Becoming Cullens
by taylorishotterthanrob
Summary: When Edward is forced to deal with his parents adopting a teenaged girl into a male run household things get a little shaken up. Especially since said sister has a broken past. It seems as though that may not be the biggest problem, as he has to deal with parents who won't let him speak to his new sister… much less fall for her. WARNING: Sensitive subjects may cause triggers. AH
1. A Day in My Life

_**Hello! And welcome to Becoming Cullens! It will update once or twice a week! I hope you enjoy!**_

_**WARNING: This story may include triggers for some… So read at own risk. Also… Edward's language is just foul, haha.**_

_**Standard Disclaimer Applies.**_

"You realize that if you keep up this type of behavior you'll end up in juvie." Principal Cope informed me as she folded her large hands over each other on her desk I didn't know why they didn't issue her a new one. She was obviously too large for her current one.

"Been there, done that. Wouldn't get the snow globe." I grunted, crossing my arms over my chest. She looked at me with a gleam of anger in her eye. I wasn't sure if it was because of my indifferent tone or because she envied my being able to fold my arms.

You know what they say…

Exercise is key.

That and not eating McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner twenty four-seven. I eyed the bags off take out in her garbage can and wrinkled my nose. They weren't the fancy salad bags either. I mean, hell I knew that a hamburger could cost less than a salad, but she should be able to afford one once in a while.

"Edward." She attempted to snap and her short nubs couldn't reach each other. But it's okay, I'd give her a break. I turned my attention from the trash can and looked up to her.

"Yes, Mrs. Cope?"

"Look, I don't want to have to call your parents again-"

"They aren't my parents, Jackie." I said with a roll of my eyes. She knew they were my adoptives and I knew she knew, so why even go down that path.

"Mrs. Cope." She reminded.

"I know your name. I think that I have spent enough time in here with you to speak on a more personal level. I mean, I thought we were closer than that." I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the edge of her desk. I winked and she blushed before rolling her eyes. The woman would do me if given the chance. I knew it, she knew it.

She wanted it.

She couldn't get it. I wasn't into BBW's… Or in her case BAW's. Big, Average Women. I'd much rather hit that fine woman that calls herself the nurse. Or should I say hit that again. I didn't really have asthma, but if that got me down to her office for a quickie during gym class, than I'd gladly have a severe asthma attack.

"Edward!" Mrs. Cope snapped again and I blinked at her before heaving a sigh.

"Yes?"

"Look, if you would like to speak on a more personal-"

"Intimate, if you will." I said lowly, giving her that slow smile that makes the panties drop.

"I won't." She huffed and I chuckled. The only reason I could stand being around Cope was because she was fucking hilarious when she wanted to be. Of course, I'd never let her know that or she'd start sending me to that dick of an assistant principal. Well… no, she wouldn't send me to him. I'm nice to look at and Jackie and I had history. Ever since she was the Assistant Principle we'd been together.

Ah, good memories.

"As I was saying, if you want to speak on a more _personal_ level-"

"I do."

"Will you stop being a dick and just listen?" She growled.

"There's the Jackie I know." I said affectionately, sticking out my lips as I spoke. She sighed and reached into her lap, when her hand reappeared with a French fry I gasped. "Have those been in your lap the whole time?" She rolled her eyes at the horror on my face.

"Yes. I missed lunch." I kept my comment to myself as my eye caught the McDonald's receipt on her bag. The time on the receipt read 12:03.

"Sure…" I said lifting my eyebrows. "As much as I'm not enjoying this, I have classes to get to, so if we could speed this up." I tapped my watch-less wrist. The nurse left twenty minutes before school ended and I'd just be able to catch her before she left if Cope let me go.

"Edward, stop." She barked. "You need to stop being such an ass to Mr. Hernández. He's knew and a little nervous about all of this."

"Oh, I can tell. He's got pit stains like none other." I shook my head and she rolled her head, stretching it out.

"As I was saying, go easy on him. And damn it, stop fighting in his class. You do it because he's little, don't you?"

"Little?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Slight?"

"No." I shook my head. "I do it because he's too busy being a monotone douche to move me away from that Emmett bastard."

"Edward, that 'Emmett bastard' has been your brother for about five years now. You still can't get along?"

"Who the hell did you think I was fighting with? Emmett and I are the only boys in that Spanish class." I rolled my eyes. "Speaking of that fucker, why isn't he in here?"

"He's being dealt with by Mr. Marshall."

"Good." Marshall was an asshole. I think I mentioned that, but it's worthy of saying twice.

"Anyway, what is little-" Little being negotiable. "ole' me supposed to do when you two start fighting like the children you are? Lord knows I'm in no shape to break you two apart from each other."

Ain't that the truth.

Worst we'd have to do is knock her over and she'd go rolling.

"Anyway, what is your issue with Mr. Cullen?"

"He's an ass."

"Any specifics?" I pursed my lips and turned my eyes to the ceiling. I sucked my cheeks in, in fake thought before shaking my head.

"Nope." I popped the 'P' and she sighed.

"Edward."

"The motherfucker said he'd rat me out to Es and Carlisle for smoking." I didn't tell her what I had been smoking, because _that_ was illegal. "You know they're doctor's they'd bite my fucking head off and then get my lungs shaved or some shit. You know, for the tar." I needed my lungs, you know… For breathing and the like. "We both know I'm not having that shit."

"So you hit him? That seems highly irrational. Even for you."

"No, I didn't hit him. I told him that I'd tattle on him for getting an STD from his little whore." I shrugged, I had no qualms about the truth.

"Emmett has an STI?"

"No." Maybe I had one qualm or two. "But Rosalie is a whore. So he got angry at me for calling her names and knocked my shit off of the desk." Cope sighed and rested her chin in her hand. "So then I knocked his ass flat out. Fuck him."

"So what do you think your little display merits?"

"Eh… a two hour Friday study?" It was like detention but for much longer.

And on Friday.

"Sounds good." She struggled to pull her desk drawer open. Probably because her stomach was blocking it shut and she would be too embarrassed to scoot her chair back and then open it. Once it was finally open she grabbed a slip quickly and as soon as she took a deep breath the drawer slammed shut. She wrote out the slip, her face still red from the effort it took to the door open. "Here's your detention slip, and here's your pass to class." I checked the time on her watch and saw that it was past time for the nurse to be here.

"Thanks." I sighed, snatching the slips from her. She sent me a glare and I got out of the office before I had to hear her lecture me on manners. Lord knows I get enough of that from Es. I sauntered to my last bell and checked to see if Cope put a time on the slip. My eyes scanned the small pass and I realized that the time slot was left blank.

Thank fuck. I love that woman.

I stopped by my locker and stared into the half empty thing for a few minutes. I didn't need shit from it, just… fuck, I don't even know. I guess it just gave me something to criticize as I waited.

"Well look who it is." I silently cursed at the sound of the nasally voice from behind me. I winced at the feel of Lauren Mallory dragging her claws down my back in what I guessed was an attempt at seduction.

"Keep your legs closed, Mallory. I'm not interested." I grunted. No need to be secretive about her reputation or her intention. She craved my dick, we both knew it. Straight and to the point was the proper way to turn her down. She wouldn't get offended. She loves that boys chase after her, and that girls are jealous of her. She was hot and easy, she knew it and used it to her advantage.

"Oh don't be like that." She leaned against me and I groaned at the feeling of her balloon tits pressing against my back.

"Jesus." I whispered, spinning so that she pressed up against my chest. "Lauren-"

"Nothing fancy… just a quick one?" She pouted those full lips and her hand snuck down to cup my junk. I bit my lip and slid my hand up her stomach, until I was cupping her tit. "Come on, you know you want it." I pulled the low cut shirt of hers down even lower so that I could see the cups of her lacy bra and cocked my head to the side.

"I know _you_ want it. I'm still debating." I reached into her shirt and pulled her bra cup back so that huge tit could bounce out. I kneaded it gently and she moaned softly, leaning into me more. Of course she had no problems with me popping out a tit in the hall. She'd probably be excited as fuck if someone were to walk out of class and see us. I swiped a finger over her nipple, feeling it harden under my touch. She arched into me and I shook my head.

Her easiness was welcomed when I was horny. But after sitting and looking at Cope for an hour I was in no mood. And the whole needy bitch thing wasn't really working for me. I was getting more irritated with every purr.

"I'm good. Thanks." I tucked her away and made to slide away when she pouted.

"Fine, but I let you feel me up. Don't I at least deserve a kiss?" She asked before puckering up and shutting her eyes. I narrowed my eyes at her and patted the top of her head.

"Not a chance in Herpes hell." I shrugged. Her eyes popped open and she glared at me before a giggle slipped through those overly glossed lips.

"You can be such a jerk sometimes." She giggled with a roll of her eyes before lightly slapping my bicep and strutting away. I rolled my eyes at the bimbo and grabbed a notepad before heading off to Mr. Berty's class. Outside of his door, I put a time on the slip, doing my best to make it look like Cope's writing. Of course I did a bang up job, so when I handed the slip to Mr. Berty he nodded with a smile.

"Just on time, Mr. Cullen." I wasn't really sure why he liked me, but he was a cool guy. That's why I haven't even made a move on his wife. She works in the attendance office and she was _smokin'._

"Well you know me, Mr. Berty. Always a stickler for the rules." I said with a smirk as I headed to my seat. I sat next to little Angela Weber in our English class. She was shy, and didn't speak much but it was a known fact that you weren't to mess with her. She had a tongue like a whip and wasn't afraid to use it, if messed with. Of course this would be why I hung out with her and that pot head I called my best friend, Jasper Whitlock.

"Well if it isn't little Angie." I said as I slid into my seat.

"Shut up."

"Not in the mood?"

"Honest to god, Edward. I will tie your dick to an anvil." She turned to me slowly and menacingly. "And I'll just let it _fall_." My eyes widened and we locked eyes for a moment before I burst into laughter.

"Jesus, you're crazy as shit." I tapped her nose and she slapped my hand away.

"No telling what or who those fingers have been in." She groaned before pulling out a moist towlette. Angela was also a closet germaphobe.

"No one yet, but if you aren't busy after school… I wouldn't be opposed." I winked and she gave me an altogether unamused look before turning her attention back to Mr. Berty. The class only went on for another ten minutes, a ten minutes full of Shakespeare from Berty and silence from Ange.

"You should have your own talk show." I told Angela as I waited for her to gather all of her shit.

"You should be in prison." She said, holding her things against her chest and moving out of the classroom swiftly. I followed after her and laughed. "Jesus, why do you continue to talk to me? I'm not going to sleep with you, Edward." She joked, rolling her eyes. Well at least it was _kind of _a joke. She really wouldn't sleep with me, but I wouldn't sleep with her either. That's probably why we get along so well.

"Whatever, see ya'. I know you don't have time to talk to me with all those cats you've got." I waved before flipping her off. She returned the sentiment and cut across the crowd to get to her locker.

I was almost knocked on my ass as a huge shoulder rammed into mine. "I'm leaving in five, asshole. Be ready." Emmett grunted into my ear. I punched him in the back and kept walking. I sauntered to my locker and opened it, and grabbed my backpack before slamming it shut and heading for the parking lot.

Emmett's oaf like ass stood in front of his Jeep with his roided up arms folded over his chest. I saw the beginnings of a black eye and smirked. That fight that I was so harshly berated for was over a fight that consisted of two hits. I got him in the eye and he nailed me in the gut before Passivist Jasper intervened.

"Fuck you starin' at?" He barked, unfolding his arm and leaning towards me.

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes and slid into the front seat of the Jeep. He took off, speeding out of the parking lot before we got trapped in by every other idiot in the parking lot. I glanced over at him to see a smile stretched out on his face.

"What the fuck are you smiling about?"

"Mom is going to kick your ass." He said before pointing at his eye.

"You're such a pussy. Can't wait to run home and snitch, huh? For such a gargantuan doofus, you sure do act like a two year old." He rolled his eyes and turned up some shitty rap song that was filled with bass and some guy whining into a microphone. He started bouncing his shoulders to the music and bobbing his head.

"We both know you're too white to attempt to dance, Emmett. Stop." I said with disgust as his big ass shook the car with his offbeat jerks.

"Fuck you." He said before continuing down the destructive path that was his dancing. I sat back and scowled at the street and the cars that passed us, staring wide eyed at Emmett. I'd be staring too if I saw a man who was barely fitting into a huge Jeep, having a seizure behind the wheel.

"Jesus, I'm driving tomorrow." I informed as the car began drifting into the left side of the road.

"Take the wheel. This part goes hard." He started grunting and jerking as the bass got faster. I grabbed the wheel and carefully steered us down the street.

"Lay off the gas, asshole. We're at home." The car noticeably slowed and I turned the car so that was jumped the curb and landed in Esme's grass.

"You dick!" Emmett screamed, wide eyed as I let go of the wheel. "Mom's going to be pissed!"

"That's the point." I went to open up the car door and he grabbed my arm.

"I'm telling her you did this." He growled, his blue eyes darkening.

"Then you'll get in trouble for driving without your hands again. So do it. I don't give a fuck." I yanked my arm away and walked towards the door. Mom stepped out of the house with a large smile and then wide eyes as she watched Emmett try and maneuver himself out of the grass by crushing some of her garden.

"What the…?" She gasped, I shrugged past her and she stopped me with her hand on my stomach. "Edward, what happened?" She asked, lightly pushing my shoulder so that I looked at the Jeep.

"He's an idiot." She shrieked as Emmett hit the rose bush and ran toward the car.

"Emmett! Emmett, stop!" She yelled over the rumble of the engine. I rolled my eyes and walked into the house, heading straight for my room. I was granted about twenty minutes of silence as the two tried getting the Jeep out of the yard. I pulled out my phone and hooked it up to my stereo before collapsing onto my bed. The last thing I wanted to deal with was my mom, I was incredibly on edge and annoyed already. And her nagging would only add to that.

Of course, I can't catch a fucking break. Mom came in squealing about something or another soon after I'd gotten comfortable.

"Edward Anthony Cullen!" She screamed and I rolled my eyes, eying the box on my desk. I should have fucking smoked before they came in. "Get down here now!" I sighed and rolled out of bed, taking my sweet time as I headed down the steps.

"What?" I asked, heading into the living room and leaning against the doorway.

"How dare you hit your brother?" She gasped as though I had spit on Jesus. I rolled my eyes and shook my head in annoyance.

"Okay look. I hit him. Can you just punish me and save my time and your breath." Esme sighed and palmed her forehead. When her face turned red I groaned audibly. Either she was going to scream or cry, hopefully not the latter. Even though she wasn't my mother, she'd quasi raised me, and I didn't like seeing her crying-upset. "I'm sorry. Continue." I sighed.

"Just, give me your phone and your cigarettes." She made a 'give me' motion and I grabbed my backpack. I pulled out the pack of decoy cigarettes that I kept, pushing past the pre-rolled blunt in the front pocket. I handed it over and went to give her the phone before pulling it back.

"Do I get them back any times soon?"

"The phone in a week. The cigarettes, never. If I catch you with another pack, I'm taking away your credit card." I huffed and Emmett smirked at me from over her shoulder.

"Fine, whatever." I turned my iPhone off and passed it over to her.

"Up to your room. I don't want to see you until dinner." She said, pointing to the stair case. I spun on my heel and stormed off.

"That was the plan anyway." I said before jogging up the stairs.

_**What did you think?**_

_**This will mostly be in EPOV and it's my first time trying a whole story from his perspective… **_

_**I hope you'll enjoy it!**_

_**Leave me a review?**_


	2. The Girl in My Dreams

**A/N: So I guess I should have included the fact that Edward is kind of a doucheward in my warning last chapter…**

**Thank you all so much for your reviews :D**

I groaned and collapsed onto my bed. It was my last day of being grounded and it sucked more than the previous ones. The freedom was so close and I was still trapped inside. Jasper had made a point to ask me to hang out after school every day this week. That asshole had work every single day; he just did it to point out the fact that I was still grounded.

Angela was already sinking into what we called her Pre-Prom funk, so I didn't try jack shit with her this week. She always got really depressed and shit about a month and a half before prom. As soon as the first invitation is sent she's down in the dumps. Jazz often took her out to smoke during said funk. She was quite honestly just hard to be around during these times. We'd found out later that she was much more bearable when high.

So we lit that shit up.

Or at least they did. I didn't really like being high at school. It made me all paranoid and shit that some fuck would call my parents. I'm not afraid of Carlisle or Esme, per say, I just fucking hate being stuck in this room. I groaned loudly and heard Emmett call out something about going to Rosalie's.

Fuck him. Fuck her.

I didn't know how he dated a chick that had slept with more people at school than I had. It made me sick. I rolled my eyes and rolled on my bed until I reached my iPod dock. I turned on some Muse and shut my eyes as whatever weird as shit music started blasting through the speakers.

I shut my eyes and tried to just focus on the music, blocking out my boring as shit day.

Classes, gone.

Emmett, gone.

Dinner, gone.

I sighed and massaged my temples, thinking about happy stuff. Like being at the beach with my real parents as a kid. _Playing in the sun with my father as Mom finished up the sand castle I'd lost interest in. I grinned as my dad tossed me a football and waded farther down into the water, yelling for me to toss the ball back._

"_Come on, kid. Put 'er there." He clapped his hands and I looked at the ball with worry. It was my favorite ball, if he didn't catch it, it'd be gone forever. _

"_I don't wanna', come back!" I called as waved washed and crashed into his back._

"_Oh, take a chance, buddy. I'll catch it." He laughed. Mom told him to come in just a little closer so that I didn't worry as much. "Hush, woman." He laughed before clapping again and getting into ready position. I closed my eyes and heard Dad yell, "Woah you might wanna-" I chucked the ball as far forward as I could and opened my eyes to see him beaming as he held the ball._

"_Look at that aim! Even with your eyes closed!" He ran towards me and swung me up into his arms and over his shoulder. I giggled as I bounced and swung on his shoulder all the way back to my mom._

"_You see that, Elizabeth? Perfect aim." He lifted me from his shoulder and carefully placed me in my mother's waiting arms. She chuckled and wrapped my small seven year old body up in a towel, kissing my wet hair. _

"_We've got ourselves a football star, huh?" She asked looking up at him with love in her eyes. I hugged the towel a little bit closer to me and snuggled into her chest as the wind turned cold._

"_You know it, beautiful." Dad dropped down onto the towel next to her and kissed her cheek before playfully nipping at her cheek. I wrinkled my nose and shook my head at the gross display._

"_Nasty," I remarked, my words echoing in my head as the scene changed. Now it was a dark, cold windy night. I looked out of the window from my little alcove in the living room. The house was warmly lit and I could hear mom rummaging around in the kitchen as Dad talked her ear off about various things._

"_Edward, look, I'm exhausted, can't we stop by a restaurant somewhere? I'm in no mood, dear." She sounded sad, I furrowed my eyebrows. I turned and got down from the window seat, heading toward the kitchen. I peeked around the doorframe to see Dad sitting at a table with Mom on his knee as he rubbed her back._

"_What's wrong, beautiful?" He asked softly rubbing her back. She frowned and worried the pearl bracelet on her left wrist. She never took it off. Which didn't make sense cause it was antique. Which meant old. And probably dirty._

"_They laid me off, Edward. The damn company is downsizing." She sighed, her forehead creased. "Ever since the CEO passed, that new dick has just been doing things to cut down on spending so that he can have a fatter check." What in the world was a dick? Was that his name? It couldn't have been a curse word._

_I already knew all of those._

"_Woah, Lizzie." Dad laughed and kissed her neck. "No telling where Eddie is, babe. Everything will be just fine, okay?" He kissed her cheek. "Just fine. Come on, I'll take you and Eddie out to dinner. We'll go to that place you like… the one downtown?" She nodded and hugged him tightly. "Come on, go get ready." He patted her butt, which was kind of gross. Why would you touch anyone's butt?_

My current self willed me to wake up. I knew what came next, the screams and the bad things… I didn't want that. I didn't want to relive any of that night, even though I usually had to.

Tonight wasn't one of those nights though. My mind flashed forward to a small foster home. I leaned back against the light green siding of the small house with my best friend.

"_Edward?" She asked softly. I looked over to see her intently braiding her dirty blonde hair. Her eyebrows were scrunched up as she stared at her hair._

"_Yep?" I watched her hands fumble with the braid and her fingers awkwardly wind up her hair. I remembered seeing my mom do that with her own hair, I didn't know why my friend couldn't do it. "You look silly." I wrinkled my nose and leaned over grabbing her braid._

_She turned and let me undo the messy hair. "Do you think somebody will come get us? Maybe our parents will come?"_

"_I don't think so." I twisted her hair up, the right way. The way that Mom taught me how to do it. I combed my fingers through the light hair, wishing it was my mother's dark brown strands I was braiding._

"_And why not? I'm a good girl." I could hear the pout in her voice._

"_And I'm a good boy, but I'm never picked." I shrugged and quickly finished her long braid._

"_That's 'cause you always hide! They just don't like me." _

"_They do too! Why wouldn't they? You're pretty…" I asked and she turned looking at me with really big, pretty eyes. I smiled and she leaned in to hug me tightly._

"_Thanks, Edward. You're pretty too." I frowned over her shoulder, not knowing if being pretty was good for a boy._

"_Thanks?" There was a loud whistle from the house and I stood, offering her my hand. She took it and didn't let go, even as we walked into the house._

"_They don't pick me though. And I want parents, don't you?" I shook my head and squeezed her hand._

"_Nope. I only want my real parents. I don't need anyone else." I shrugged and pulled her closer to me. It was visit day at the foster home, lots of mommies and daddies came through the building, picking up the younger kids. No one ever really wanted us older ones. I guess they thought we couldn't fit in as well. I didn't care though, I was happy to stay here and not have two people trying to be my mom and dad. They couldn't be. _

_Of course that was the day that the pretty, brown haired woman came to me and smiled. I looked for my friend but she was off talking to two other old people, blushing and being cute. The woman stuck out her hand and when I shook it she waved over a blonde man. She asked me a few questions, ones that I answered softly. It was kind of my first time talking to parents. They usually thought I was too old._

"_You're lovely, Edward." The woman, Esme, said sweetly. "May I have a hug?" I shrugged and opened my arms. I sighed when she hugged me, she hugged like my mom. I smiled and took a deep breath, before frowning. She smelled all wrong; nice but wrong. I scowled and pulled back._

"_Carlisle…" She said before straightening up to her full height and turning to the tall guy next to her. "I think he's the one." _

"_But…" I whispered, looking over at my sweet friend who sat alone now. She stared sadly down at her hands and I spied the people she was talking to earlier playing with Tommy, a two year old. She looked up at me with tear stained cheeks and I wanted to cry too. "What about-"_

"Edward?" Esme's voice woke me and she shook my shoulder. I looked up to see here smiling down at me, the same way she smiled at the foster home.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?" I asked softly, just curious, no hostility behind my words.

"I wanted to say bye, before I left. I'm sorry to wake you… but…" She looked down at her lap, much like my friend did eight years ago. My nameless and apparently faceless friend.

"Hmm?" I sat up in bed and groaned when I realized I still wore yesterday's clothes.

"Sorry, it was dumb." She stood and took a step away from the bed when I touched her arm.

"What's up?" I questioned, we both looked towards the door as we heard Carlisle milling around in the hall.

"I just, I know that we haven't been on the best of terms recently… with the grounding and everything. I just wanted you to know that I love you." I smiled tiredly and she cracked a smile too.

"Love you too, Mom." I opened my arms for a hug and she let out a chuckle. She hugged me tightly and kissed the side of my head.

"Okay, honey. You get sleep okay?" When we pulled back she dropped another kiss on my cheek.

"Okay, have a good day." I knew it had to be at latest four in the morning and I was exhausted. To exhausted for extended conversation.

"Alright, you two. Goodnight, honey." She turned out the lamp that I'd left on all night and left the room. She pulled the door closed and as soon as it touched the frame it swung back open.

"Morning, Edward." Dad greeted a little too loudly for the hour. I groaned and crawled into bed, under the sheets this time.

"Night, Dad. Goodbye… Leave." Esme, I could handle at the hour. Him, not so much.

"Don't forget to take out the trash and then have a great day at school, champ." I didn't even put in the effort to find out if that last part was sarcasm. I just yanked my blankets over my head and tried to let him know, that it was time for him to get the fuck out.

… In not so many words.

"Yeah, okay. Bye." I huffed, turning onto my stomach and burying my face into my pillow. He said another cheery goodbye before my door closed. I shut my eyes and tried to escape back into my dreams, knowing that it was highly unlikely that I'd have the same dream twice in one night.

I sighed and turned on my back, lacing my fingers beneath my head. Every time I had the dream about meeting Esme and Carlisle my friend made an appearance. In the dream her face was clear, she was real. But as soon as my eyes saw daylight her face and name were gone.

_Damn._

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	3. Another Stranger Down the Hall

**Thanks to: dazzleglo, Chilly Howdy, sujari6, SiddaCullen, janshanr, jule2, and theamazingtracy. I really appreciated your reviews :D**

"Edward, wake up, honey." I felt my bed dip and a hand trail through my hair. I became acutely aware of my massive erection as Esme moved in closer to me. I slyly shifted my hips backward and she kissed my forehead.

"Ah, I'm awake. I'm awake." I groaned before flipping onto my stomach and wincing.

"School starts in thirty minutes honey, and dad is leaving in ten. So hop to it." Dad had been carting Emmett and I to school for the past two weeks and I would be lying if I said it wasn't the shittiest thing to ever happen to me. Angela and Jasper waited together at Jazz's car just to watch me scramble from the car. It was tiring as shit having to keep up with their constant jibes and throw back even better ones.

"I'm not going today." I sighed into my pillow. We would be doing shit in classes anyway. It was the week when the sophomores took the Washington Graduation Tests and the school had fucked up the bell schedule to accommodate the little fucks. So instead of adjusting, teachers just gave up and played movies or gave busy work.

"You can't just not go to school." Esme chuckled, kissing my forehead.

"Okay. Just a forewarning. I've arranged to fight this kid after school because he keyed 'dick' into my locker. So I'm going to fuck him up." I lied. There was a light pop on my lips and I scowled.

"Watch your mouth." She sighed before pushing off of the bed. "And if it keeps you from fighting, maybe you should stay home. But you still have to come to breakfast." I nodded and when the door shut I checked under my blanket to see that my mother's presence cured my little situation. I tossed off my comforter and looked in the mirror before heading downstairs.

"Edward, there's a lady present. You can't even put on a shirt?" Dad asked as he cast me a glance.

"Mom's seen it all before." I kissed Esme's temple and she shook her head. She handed me a plate of pancakes and bacon and eggs. Emmett stumbled down the stairs, only in his boxers.

"Jesus, Emmett." Carlisle griped, pursing his lips at my brother. Esme patted his shoulder and pointed to the chair next to mine.

"Sit, sit. We have something to tell you." Esme smiled, waving us to the chair.

"Good stuff?"

"Well we think so!" Esme grinned and Emmett turned to me solemnly.

"Well, back to the system you go, bro." Carlisle smacked the back of Emmett's head with a newspaper at Emmett's words and Em laughed. They took their seats opposite us and smiled brightly.

"How would you boys feel about getting a sister?" Esme asked, in a cartoony voice, as though we were three. I sighed and rolled my eyes before picking at some brown crap beneath my nail.

"I thought I had a sister." Emmett laughed stupidly, nudging me with his arm. Carlisle gave Emmett a withering look and Esme waved him off.

"Dude, if you keep talking I'll give you a black eye to rival the other." I mumbled to my cereal because I honestly just wanted to sleep. Emmett flinched toward me and I rolled my eyes.

"I told you they wouldn't like the idea." Esme frowned and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Who cares? They'll have to get used to it." Carlisle turned his words to us. "We're adopting a girl. Well technically we've already adopted her."

"Dude! We're gonna get a little sister." Emmett's mouth dropped open and a piece of bacon fell out into his plate. I grimaced at the gross display.

"Well she's not really... _Little. _She's your age." Carlisle said. "And take it easy on her. She's had a rough life, been in the system since she was..." Carlisle looked to Esme for help.

"Born." She finished, frowning down at her hands.

"Is she hot?" Emmett. Who else?

"It doesn't matter; she's going to be your sister." Carlisle sighed. Yeah, great idea, Doc. Bring in a high school girl to live with high school boys. Hell, even I knew this wouldn't end up well.

"Matter of taste." Esme shrugged, "But I think she's cute." That's girl talk for decent looking. "But you have a girlfriend, Emmett."

"Let me lay down the law here. You are not to hit on, coax or persuade her. Do you understand? She is to be your _sister_. She's not a game." I could tell his words were directed at me. Meanwhile, Emmett was doing his pump up dance next to me.

I turned and punched him in the arm, tired of his shit. "Stop being an idiot for, like, one second?" He growled at me and when he went to punch me back I knocked his hand away.

"Cut it out." Carlisle said making me roll my eyes. "Listen, Isabella is a senior just like you all and she's... sensitive. So help her out during school. Watch out for her. If I hear she's having problems I'm going to you two." I grimaced down at my bowl. Of course I'd be put in charge of making sure some fucking average looking recluse.

Just my luck.

"I'll watch her alright..." Emmett said in a creepy as fuck tone. That idiot wouldn't be any help in watching her. Hell, he'd probably be the one to harass her.

"So, you're adopting a third kid, in her last year in the system… So that we can be her body guards at school. Way to give us the shitty end of the stick."

"Edward-"

"This is quite honestly the worst idea you have ever had. You're going to bring her around this pig? Even if she is ugly, he'd hit it." Emmett shrugged like the dumbass he was and I rolled my eyes. "He's into the ugly ones right, Em? Have you met his newest girl?" Esme's bright eyes turned to Emmett who glared at me and clenched his fists.

"Edward, please. Don't speak about Rosalie that way. I think she's lovely. And if you curse at your mother one more time, I'm taking away the iPod." Carlisle put his hand in Esme's lap, patting her knee.

"Okay, whatever." I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back into my seat again. Breakfast was long forgotten and dismissed; I just wanted to lie down. This was such a waste of my time. They wanted our approval on a decision they'd already made. If they didn't get that approval they were going to try and persuade us to approve. Isabella was going to come, whether Em and I wanted her too or not.

"Can I go now?" I asked in a way that told them that I was done being polite and I was going to dip out one way or another.

"Edward, mind your manners, we aren't finished speaking." Carlisle shook his head and when I went to stand he pointed at the chair. I groaned and dropped into the chair.

"Now boys listen. I can't stress how important it is that you are careful around Isabella. If you could refrain from fighting in front of her that'd be great. No sexual comments, gestures or innuendos to or about her." Jesus, fuck. This girl was fucking with my freedom already and she hasn't even come in yet.

"What the fuck is she? The Pope?" I huffed with a frustrated, wide eyed glance around the room.

"No but she has been through a lot, Edward. And she sure doesn't need you being rude to her. So watch yourself."

"That goes for you as well, Emmett." Esme pitched in, cutting off Carlisle from saying something that he'd probably regret later. He sighed and looked to her with adoration as she spoke. I swear, I don't know how they do it. They've fostered multiple kids before adopting Emmett and I and after twenty years of marriage he still looked at her like she hung the moon. Hell even though I didn't always show it, I respected the both of them for what they've done for Em and me, and their strength in doing it.

"Isabella is such a sweet girl and she'll really just need a friend when she gets here. She's moving here from Portland, so obviously she won't know anyone here. So what we need is-"

"Our pity?" I scoffed and Emmett snickered.

"Edward, are we going to have a problem?" Carlisle slammed his hand down on the table and glared at me. I sat stoically as I watched him turn from his unusually pale white to deep red.

"Not if you don't make one." I said, rolling my eyes up to match his glare. He'd been on my fucking dick for a few weeks now and I had no fucking clue why.

"I'm getting sick and tired of your attitude, young man." He growled, pointing at me.

"You aren't the only one." I grumbled, stretching out my legs under the table. Hell, I was going to be in here for a while, why not get comfortable?

"Carlisle, calm down." Esme touched his forearm and he continued to glare at me.

"No, what are we supposed to do? How the hell are we going to make this girl feel safe with him acting like a-"

"Carlisle!" Esme snapped and I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table.

"A what, _dad?_" I questioned, folding my hands beneath my chin. He flinched as I sneered his name, and when he opened his mouth Esme swatted him.

"Go to your room." He ordered, pointing above my head. "Better yet, go to school. I'm not lying to your school because you're too lazy to show up to class. Be ready in ten."

"Esme already said I didn't have to go. Are you just going to _contradict_ everything she says?" I looked to Esme who bit her lip and stared intently at the table cover. "Make your marriage work for you, Mom." I walked around to pat her shoulder before heading out of the room. I stopped about two feet outside of the doorway and spun on my heel, sticking my head back in the door.

"So when is this kid getting here?"

"This afternoon, _when you get home from school_ she should be here." Carlisle said before pointing behind me. He's don't-fuck-with-me tone told me that I would indeed be going to school today.

Fuck.

I growled and stomped up the stairs loudly, because I knew both things just pissed Carlisle off. I wasn't that upset about having to go to school. It wasn't like I'd have to try at all that week. Desks were just harder to sleep on.

I jumped in the shower quickly, because let's be honest, no girl wants to give it up to a guy that smelled like ass. Not that I smelled like ass… I just wasn't going to take chances. Afterwards I went through my morning routine at top speed before hauling ass downstairs. Carlisle waited at the door keys in hand and opened it for me.

"That was quick."

"I skipped the makeup today." I rolled my eyes and slid into the front seat of the car. The entire ride over was awkward and silent. I grimaced and stared out of the window for most of it and said nothing to Carlisle.

"Have a good day." He said as he dropped me off in front of the building. I nodded at the casualty and waved before heading into the building. I was about a bell late, thanks to Carlisle and Esme's talking about the Virgin Mary. I groaned and headed to the attendance office, waiting in a short line before signing in and receiving my lunch detention that I wouldn't be attending. I tossed the detention slip in the garbage on the walk away from the office and headed to second bell.

I passed Lauren Mallory in the hall and shot her a wink that sent her stumbling into a trash can. I rolled my eyes and snickered as I headed straight for my locker. The halls were always desolate between bells, save for me, Lauren and a few frantic looking stragglers. I had a study hall second bell, so I took my sweet time getting my shit and heading there.

When I got to study hall Jasper was sitting alone, scowling at his cell phone. I dropped down into the seat next to him, tossing my binder onto the table in front of me. Jasper looked up at me with wide 'What the fuck' eyes and tossed up his hands.

"What?"

"Too busy being angsty to text me back?"

"Sorry, sweetheart." I deadpanned and rolled my eyes, he lifted an eyebrow. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're not my girlfriend."

"Fuck you, man. Why are you so late anyway?" He asked folding his arms over his chest.

"Apparently Emmett and I are getting a sister." I shrugged and pulled out my calculus homework. He groaned and ran his hands through his too long honey blonde hair. I didn't see what girls saw in him. He was grungy as fuck, and not the kind of grungy that takes effort or preripped jeans. Dude honestly just roughed it for no reason.

"A sister?"

"Yep, she's a senior too. Apparently she's this friendless recluse who needs Em and I to bodyguard her whole fuckin' life. Esme and Carlisle are flipping out, telling Em and me to be nice and shit." I rolled my eyes and started in on my homework. No matter how much my parents wanted it, I wasn't changing myself for some bitch I don't even know. I'd kept everything one hundred percent real all of my life and people can either take me or leave me. I sure as fuck wasn't going to change for her.

"So is she more like… a sister? Or a fuck buddy." I furrowed my eyebrows at the thought. Who the hell says things like that?

"Neither. She'll just be another fucking stranger down the hall."

**Give him a while, ladies…**

**We meet Bella next chapter :/ How do you think it'll go.**

**But in the meantime, leave me your thoughts… **

**I tease :) **


	4. The Bane of My Existence

**Thanks to: theamazingtracy, SiddaCullen, dr. meow1234, dazzleglo, dowlingnana, majestic seahorse, Chilly Howdy, EdwardBellaRenesmeCullen, jule2, janshanr, Kgunter34, and OCA.**

**Ready to meet Bella?!**

"So what do you think about this whole sister thing?" Emmett asked as we drove home. Mom and dad sent him to school as well, figuring he'd scare poor fragile little Bella.

"Why are you talking to me?" I questioned aloud. Usually on rides like these we passed the time by ignoring each other and taking turns on who controlled the wheel. The latter was completely involuntary on my part. We didn't talk- have legitimate conversations under any circumstance. I thought he knew that, but apparently I was mistaken.

"Because we're getting a sister. That's kind of a big deal." I wrinkled my nose at the way he said "getting" I was thinking of it as more along the lines of "being imposed upon by."

"Yeah, whoop-dy doo, more rules because she can't handle herself." I shrugged and sucked at my teeth.

"Dude, don't be an ass." Emmett sighed. I don't know why people kept saying that. I'd been hearing that shit since I was seven and it sure hasn't stopped me.

"Why do we have to be her fucking body guards?" I grumbled, still not looking his way.

"I don't know? Why is it such a big deal to you anyway? It's not like you have anything better to do." I rolled my eyes.

"I just think it's unfair. They get a kid; I have to make sure she isn't bullied or harassed." I shrugged. I mean, who was I? Secret Service? I didn't even know this chick, so what would make me want to help her. If she were biologically my sister things would be different, but she wasn't. So I had no sympathy.

"Ah quit your whining. You're being a little girl. Anyway, give Isabella a break I'm sure she didn't ask for backup. Carlisle and Esme just want her to feel comfortable. Hell, I got the same talk when you came."

"And what a great job you've done." I rolled my eyes. The day I met Emmett was the day we had our first physical fight. They'd said I was emotionally unstable or some shit back then, called it a chemical imbalance. But I really fought him because he was pissing me off. Nothing biological about it.

"Whatever. But listen, man-" He swung the car into the driveway, hitting the actual pavement this time. With a roll of his eyes he parked the car and hopped out.

"Don't think that we're friends because we've had our first conversation." I warned. "Because we aren't, we are far from it actually." I got out to and joined him in standing in front the car.

"Shut up. I was just gonna say that if she's hot it would definitely be a plus, you know what I'm saying?"

"That you want to molest our new sister? You're sick." I wrinkled my nose and looked up at the house. There was a large part of me that really didn't want to go into that house. I didn't do well with change; I knew that, everyone did. This was a big change and I wasn't sure I'd want some chick encroaching on my already shitty life. She could only make things worse, anyway. She'd take up too much time in the bathroom, menstruate and just generally suck. That's why I didn't keep girlfriends and why I didn't have a sister.

Didn't, being the key word.

"She's not really our sister… It's a little late for that don't you think?" He shrugged, bumping my shoulder. "Anyway, I wouldn't call it molesting if it's mutual. I think that's just referred to as groping." He wiggled his eyebrows and I scowled at him, pissed at myself for ever engaging in conversation with a dumb shit like him.

"You do know that you have a girlfriend right?" I questioned, trying to jog his memory. Poor Rosalie was just getting tossed to the curb.

Heh.

Who am I kidding? Rosalie is probably off screwing some other guy. Hell, she was the second easiest girl in our grade, only behind the infamous Lauren Mallory. Hell, I'd slept with her the day before Emmett asked her to go steady, or whatever the fuck he said. How was I to know that all of his late nights were spent trying to woo Rosalie Hale. After he told me his good news I was a little bit more than pissed at the skank. I mean, I don't like Emmett, but damn it, his still kind of family and she fucked him over.

But I'd kept all of that hush-hush because I was fully aware of the fact that if Emmett found out I'd fucked Rosalie, he'd string my dead body from a flagpole. Rosalie and I don't dare glance at each other in the hallway now. Both of us a little afraid that the other might go snitching.

But enough about that whore. Let's get back to Isabella.

Eh, actually let's not.

"I don't want to meet her." Emmett said, taking the words out of my mouth. I nodded and slung my backpack over my shoulders before stuffing my hands into my pockets.

"Maybe we should head down to Chipotle and get a burrito or something." I suggested.

"Works for me." In that moment, I'd never liked him more.

Don't get me wrong. I still didn't like him. I just didn't like him _less._

"Yup." We turned and headed to our doors, pulling them open. I'd successfully gotten into the Jeep when Carlisle stepped out onto the porch, hands on hips.

"Start the car. Go, before he speaks." I urged as Carlisle began walking towards us, exasperation taking over his features. Emmett's big hands fumbled to get the keys into the ignition and I watched as my fingers tapped nervously on my thigh. "Jesus. Fuck! Emmett. Go he's getting closer and we're still sitting here!" I rushed out, my eyes darting from Emmett to Carlisle. We lost the battle though when Emmett's car door opened and Carlisle stood there with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you two think you're doing?" He asked.

"Bonding. Is that a problem?" I asked, leaning around Emmett's gargantuan chest to meet Carlisle's eyes.

"It's untimely. We've been trying to get you to bond for about eight years now."

"And now your hard work has finally paid off." I smiled innocently and he shook his head.

"Nope, come in the house. You can bond later."

"I won't tolerate him as much later, Dad. Just give us a break." Emmett begged, and I nodded.

"Well, why don't I just get Isabella and you two can take her on your sibling bonding excursion?"

"It's not sibling bonding, it's brotherly bonding. There's a very big difference." I told him. There was no way he was going to leave that girl with us. Not a chance in hell.

"Well surely you can make an exception for your new sister."

"Eh, but we can't." I said with a mock wince.

"Unless she grows a penis." Emmett pitched in. "Or has one she's hiding."

"And even then her/his chances are shaky." I shook my hand from side to side and Carlisle stared incredulously at us.

"Well, why don't you come inside, because I think you've insulted Isabella enough for one day?" He said before pursing his lips.

"I haven't met her. How could I have possibly insulted her?" I asked with a shrug.

"I don't know, maybe by standing in front of the house staring at it with blatant disgust before making an attempt to drive away."

"We weren't disgusted. We were debating." Emmett said, pulling his jammed key out of the ignition.

"It looks like you two are afraid of this girl."

"I'm not afraid of girls, Dad. But nice try." I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest. "I just don't have an interest in meeting the bane of my shitty existence."

"Nice vocabulary usage." Emmett nodded and I curled a lip at him.

"No. Dude, I told you, we aren't friends don't start complimenting me and shit." He turned and punched me in the shoulder and I flicked his ear. Carlisle reached in and grabbed Emmett's shoulder, pulling him back.

"What'd we say about fighting?! It was only a few hours ago, how in the hell could you have already forgotten?"

I rolled my eyes, "We didn't forget."

"So you're ignoring."

"Call it what you will." I shrugged and waved a hand in the air.

"Get in the house now. Both of you." He turned away from the car and headed up the stairs.

"Fuck." Emmett sighed, looking over to me. "And just so you know, asshat. I don't want to be your friend. It's called being polite. You should try it sometime. People respond well to it."

"Good thing I don't worry about how people _respond _to me." I rolled my eyes and pushed the car door open, I was done speaking to him and I made that known by obnoxiously slamming the door shut. Emmett met me again at the front of the car and we stood in silence.

"Fuck." I hissed to myself before starting up the cobble stone path to our front door. Emmett was right on my tail the whole time and when we reached the door there was another pregnant pause. The door swung open before either of us touched it and the gasp from both of us was audible.

Standing in our doorway was a tall brunette girl with gorgeous brown eyes and a cute smile tugging at the edges of her lips. She was far past stunning and in that moment I knew that living with her wouldn't be that bad after all. She wrinkled her adorable button nose at us and cleared her throat. With a surprised glance at Emmett I saw him thoroughly appraising her from head to toe. At her cough his eyes snapped back up.

"I'm Bella." She said her smile widening as she stepped aside. "You guys can come in…" She trailed, her tone telling me that we were making her uncomfortable.

"I'm Edward." I smiled at her, you know, the half-smile. One side of my mouth quirked up and she blushed before sticking out a hand. Our eyes locked as we shook hands and the weirdest as shit thing happened. I felt something shoot through me; it was almost like a zap, but it also kind of felt like a magnetic pull toward her. We stared at each other in confusion for a few seconds before Emmett finally found his wits.

"And I'm Emmett." She let go of my hand and the smile that had melted away during our exchange was back. She beamed at him and stuck out her hand again, he rolled his eyes and surprised her with a hug. Which was weird as fuck. I'd never known Emmett to be a hugger… But I guess you learn something knew about guys when you stick them in a room with a hot girl.

"Hi, Emmett!" She squealed as she was lifted off of the ground. "It's nice to meet you," her expression became unreadable as she looked towards me again. "_both_ of you." I nodded and gave her a full once over. She wore a fitted band t-shirt and ripped jeans that made her look more cute than grungy.

Wait… What the fuck is happening to me?

I don't use words like cute, adorable and gorgeous. And as I stood looking at her, they were the only descriptive words I could think of.

Oh god, I was turning into a pussy.

Fuck.

"Well, I guess this is a good thing…" Esme said softly behind us, Bella smiled at my mom… Or _our_ mom or whatever the fuck. I had trouble turning away from that cute grin as I looked at my parents.

"I guess we can assume they like each other." Dad smiled.

"More than I like Emmett." I chuckled, tugging a hand through my hair. As my wrist passed by my ear I became acutely aware of how fast my heart was beating.

"Good, then that means we're ready for dinner right?" Mom asked with a bright smile.

"I'll help you." All four of us stood mildly shell shocked at Bella's words.

"You will?" Esme whispered her caramel eyes wide with surprise. "Oh, great!" She smiled. "Yes, this'll be fun. The kitchen's this way."

"I'll, uh, help too." Anything as long as I could look at Bella a little longer.

"Um, okay." Esme said before clapping and flitting off to the kitchen. We followed after her silently and I smiled as I fell back, watching Isabella switch that sweet ass into the kitchen.

There's the Edward I know.

I smiled at myself and saw Esme glare at me as I walked in. That wiped the smile off of my face and I kept my eyes above her shoulders.

**So…. Tell me what you think…**

**And I'll tease!**


	5. Never Have I Ever

**Thanks to: SiddaCullen, dazzleglo, Beth Ann Cullen, Natsar, janshanr, TwilightSy, booksxforxlife, tuti, dr. meow1234, Kgunter34, jule2 and Misiu for reviewing!**

If I haven't mentioned it by now, I'd like to get the word out that my new sister is hot as fuck. Like extremely hot, and more than nice. She's perfect. I watched her flit around the house doing mundane things that Esme did or encouraged Emmett and I to do every once in a while.

Thankfully no one else was here to see my gawking, because it was pretty ridiculous. I plopped down on the couch and watched her sweet ass as she bent down to dust Emmett's Xbox. Or caught a little side boob action as she reached up to Windex the mirror. Who knew jeans and a tank top could look so good? I'd been just chilling on the sofa, hard as a rock for about an hour now.

Of course I didn't let on to my creepiness. I had the television on and running as I watched some stupid adult cartoon. She would giggle or chuckle every once in a while and that'd elicit my own laugh. I just couldn't get over how lucky I was to have such a gorgeous creature roaming around the house.

She'd been around for about a week now and I was still just as surprised by her willingness to help as I was by her hotness.

"Edward, do you want anything for lunch?" She asked, wiping off her forehead after she finished. I smiled at her and patted the sofa next to me. She blushed and took a seat next to me.

"No, have a seat. You've done enough today. I can take you out if you want? There's not much to eat around here though… A diner a few streets over and a McDonald's just out of the town limits." I offered, maybe if I wined and dined her… I could… you know…

Ah fuck.

She'd still be around for, like, ever after that. Not that I didn't like her as a person, but I would give anything to hit that. I don't think I could just chill here knowing that she would continue to look so hot. I wasn't one for continuous things… It was a little different with Lauren. I just had to shove my dick down her throat, get off and then she'd be gone and satisfied.

Oh and Jesus, Carlisle would have my ass on a platter if I did screw Bella.

Damn it.

"If you think that's the best thing to do…" She shrugged.

"It's Edward, of course it's not the best thing to do." Emmett boomed from somewhere around a corner. He dropped a whole bunch of shit on the ground by the door before his massive ass popped up behind us. "Don't let him lure you into anything you don't want to do." He joked, and Bella's eyebrows furrowed as frown appearing.

"Hey, are you okay?" I put a hand on her knee, that same zap shot up my arm again and I ignored it. But she jumped before taking a deep breath. Well, hot or not, there was definitely something a little off about this one.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry." She chuckled before shaking her head and running a hand through her hair.

"You're fine." I waved her off and she nodded before our eyes locked. "A lot of static or something, I guess." I shrugged and rubbed my thumb over my palm.

"Why don't we all do something together?" She suggested to me and then Emmett when he slammed his heavy ass into the couch on her other side. Em and I locked eyes with wry smiles as we thought about her proposal.

"We can call it a bonding day!" She clapped and beamed and I smiled right back at her. Emmett snorted and pointed at me before going into another fit of laughter.

"That's not really our thing, Bella." I said, frowning at Emmett. She locked eyes with me and cocked her head to the side.

"Come on, please?" She pouted and I narrowed my eyes. Something about those wide brown eyes was familiar. Which was weird as fuck, how could one part of someone be familiar? Especially when you'd never met said someone before. When my eyebrows furrowed she broke eye contact.

"I dunno, Bella." Emmett said with a shrug. "Edward and I don't really get along, I guess you could say."

"You're doing just fine now." She said with a bright smile. I sighed and he shook his head. She really just wasn't going to get this.

"This isn't going to work." She patted my thigh this time and I became aware of just how close her hand was to my cock. Damn I wanted to throw her down and just fuck the shit out of her. I felt a finger on my chin and Bella tilted my head back up. I blushed at being caught and she rolled her eyes with a smile.

"You're an idiot." Emmett snorted.

"You're one to talk, dumbass." I bit back and Bella flinched before holding up her hands, palms out.

"I see." She said, biting her lip. "At my last home, we got to know everyone by playing Never Have I Ever-"

"I'm in." Em and I said simultaneously. We both knew it was just an easy way to get everyone drunk. And I would love nothing more than to be drunk. Well, I'd love to be nailing sister dearest here, but that wasn't going to happen.

"We played the clean edition."

"Well good thing this isn't your old home." I said standing and heading into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of Vodka from Carlisle's locked cabinet. The same locked cabinet that both Emmett and I had keys to. It was so easy to get that key off of his ring and make copies.

"What? We can't drink, guys."

"Why not?" Emmett asked and I gestured to him with the bottle from the kitchen. She couldn't even see me but that fucker I call a brother had a point.

"Carlisle and Esme-" Our parents were at one of their many conferences in Oregon, leaving us to our own devices for a while. They apparently tried everything to get out of it, but doctors had to do that kind of shit I guess…

"Aren't coming back until tomorrow at five." I finished for her as I grabbed three shot glasses. I took them back into the family room and handed them out, setting the vodka on the coffee table. I poured the clear liquid into their glasses and Bella sniffed it.

Emmett lifted and eyebrow. "Vodka?"

"Come on it'll be fun." I smirked, turning on the charm as I winked at her cute ass.

"I can start. Never have I ever lived somewhere for more than two years." She said before watching both Emmett and I knock one back. I winced at the burn as the vodka slid down my throat.

"Okay, my turn." Emmett said, pouring out new rounds. "Never have I ever had a one night stand." He looked pointedly at me and I took a shot with a roll of my eyes. "Oh, by the way, Bella. When you get too sloppy to drink, you strip." Her eyes widened and she looked to me for conformation. I nodded and he elaborated. "We don't want anyone getting alcohol poisoning. You're welcome."

Well, Emmett and I probably win the 'Creepiest Brothers Ever' award. But let's be honest, there was no way we were ever going to see her as a sister. Maybe a friend but, my goodness, she was fucking banging.

"Okay," She shrugged before nodding for me to go.

"Never have I ever gone to a private school." Emmett took a shot and Bella raised an eyebrow.

"My parents sent me to some snotty private school when I was six. They died that same year." He said, pouring himself another shot.

"I'm sorry, Emmett." She said softly, patting his knee. He shrugged and waved her off.

"Never have I ever…" She turned her eyes to the ceiling and bit her lip. "been kissed on the mouth." I furrowed my eyebrows and took a shot. She was kind of old as fuck to have never been kissed before.

"Damn, girl." Emmett whistled before winking at her. "I've got one for you. Never have I ever been a virgin."

"You dumb shit, we've all been virgins." I pointed out with a roll of my eyes.

"Never have I ever been a virgin past the age of fifteen." I took a shot to Emmett's surprise and Bella… didn't to both of our astonishment. I smiled, that's my kind of girl. Fuck and duck. No emotional attachment necessary.

"Wait-" He said pointing to her glass. She shook her head and I shrugged. Maybe her tampon took her v-card, I heard that that happens sometimes.

"Next." She said, pointing at me.

"Never have I ever… done anything harder than pot." I said, refilling my last shot. Neither of them took a shot. I nodded before pounding my newly poured shot and turning to Bella.

"Never have I ever had a sexual fantasy or dream." She said, her eyes darting between the two of us. We locked eyes as I took my shot and I chuckled. If only she knew, I had one the night before of taking her in the exact spot she sat in.

Yeah, I've got something's I need to work through regarding my new sister.

"Never have I ever been to Juvie." I narrowed my eyes at Emmett who must've though he was so cool for making me look like an ass in front of Bella. I took a shot and resisted throwing the then empty glass at his head. I chanced a glance at Bella who was staring at her hands.

"Never have I ever had a girlfriend." I said before pointing at the newly tied down asshole.

"Never have I ever had a hangover." Bella said and Em and I both took a shot.

"We should do this every night." I sighed as the alcohol started to set in. I relaxed against the back of the couch as my stomach warmed up. Bella smiled at me and nodded.

"Never have I ever thought about doing something sexual with someone in this room." Emmett said, and I folded my arms over my chest. I wasn't drinking to that shit. However when Bella emptied her glass for the first time both of our jaws dropped.

And well, the thought of Bella wanting to do 'something sexual' with me had me hardening even more.

"The games all about honesty, boys." She winced before coughing; I reached over and patted her back.

"Damn, girl, who?" Emmett asked, making a point to flex.

"I will not be telling you two. I think I've done enough admitting. Let's move on." She turned to me and blushed, all the way down her neck.

Oh it was definitely me.

"Wait… doesn't that count as a fantasy?" I asked and she shrugged but Emmett pointed a finger at her with a nod. She shrugged and tossed another glass back.

"Well then," I started, she'd completely caught me off guard and I'd forgotten my question. "Fuck… I can't think of one." Emmett snorted and I glared at him. "Never have I ever had blonde hair." I said, pointing at him.

He picked it up and slammed it back. At Bella's curious gaze he groaned. "It was a phase." She nodded and then knocked one back too.

"I was blonde until about six years ago. I don't know what happened." I nodded and pictured Bella as a blonde… naked.

Nah… Screw the blonde part. She looked just as good as a brunette… In my mind's eye, of course.

"Never have I ever had a colonoscopy." She said, playing just as dirty as she thought I was. Neither of us drank because we weren't middle aged… "This is awkward." I chuckled and looked to Emmett. She took another shot with a sigh.

"Never have I ever had a vagina." He pointed at me and I kicked him as Bella took a shot.

"Never have I ever been aroused by a man." I pointed at him and he pouted before taking a shot with Bella, who swayed in her seat a little.

At Bella's raised eyebrow he huffed. "I was smashed, he looked like a she… let's just move along." I laughed as things began getting fuzzy. The good kind of fuzzy.

She winced, "Dear goodness, I feel so…" She swung to one side and then to the other with a content smile. "Have I nev-" She fell into laughter before shaking her head. "Never have I ever wanted to touch my boobs." Emmett and I both took shots and I glared at him as she glared at us before swaying in her seat. "Well, you could have at least been a little more discrete. You can touch them if you want to…" Oh fuck, she was trashed. So was Emmett, who reached out to cop a feel. I smacked his hand away and called it quits.

For a second there I'd forgotten that we were drinking with an alcohol virgin. She was smashed and she'd only had six. Oh wait… that was kind of a lot… How many did I have?

"Oh I have to call quitsies. Obviously being the responsible adult." I said, standing and snatching the liquor bottle from Emmett. I capped it and stumbled my way into the kitchen, narrowly missing the edge of the couch which went out much farther than it used to. I poured water into the bottle and cleaned it up before sticking it into the cabinet. Carlisle didn't drink vodka anymore, he probably wouldn't even notice.

When I walked back into the living room Emmett and Bella were supporting each other as they walked out of the room. I wanted to get a picture of them, being all adorable, and sibling like- but underaged drinking was illegal… So…

Maybe another time.

**How's that for bonding, huh?**

**Review! I tease!**


	6. My Name

**Thanks to: theamazingtracy, Beth Ann Cullen, SiddaCullen, dowlingnana, TwilightSy, janshanr, Chilly Howdy, sandy4321, dr. meow1234, dazzleglo and tuti, for reviewing! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get back to you!**

The next morning was shit. My head throbbed, my mouth tasted like ass and everything was bright as fuck. Bella and I managed to get downstairs to eat something before school. We sat together in the dark kitchen quietly, the only noises were the sound of the spoons clanking against the bowl. But when I got bored and decided it was time to stick my head up my ass I spoke.

"You're a lot more normal than I was expecting." I shrugged and spooned some cereal into my mouth.

"Why would you expect anything else?" She asked with a chuckle. I shrugged again and watched her shake her head.

"Mom and Dad made you sound like a basket case. Told us we had to protect you and shit." I was nothing if not honest.

"Hmm." Her eyes fell and I sighed.

"What happened to you anyway?" I mean we were kind of family, I guess. Well, I knew we were friends and friends could ask questions, right?

Her shoulders tensed and she began to worry her bottom lip.

"What?" I asked, she looked up at me and her eyes were hard.

"I don't want to talk about it." She grabbed her bowl and left the table, dumping it in the sink.

"Why not?" I pressed, knowing that I was being a dick. But I was curious.

"They're obviously not good things, Edward, so I'd prefer to just leave those things where they belong, in the past." She whispered as though someone would hear us. But the two of us and Emmett were the only ones in the house. I grabbed her elbow and she turned to scowl at me. It was the first time I'd ever seen sweet Bella without a smile.

"You can trust me." I said softly, I would let It go for now, but I did want her to know that. "I know you don't know me very well... But-"

"I disagree." That beautiful smile was back and it made my own appear. "I'd like to think I know you very well, Edward Masen." She winked at me before pulling her arm from my grip and heading up the stairs. I stumbled back a few steps and stared wide eyed at her disappearing figure.

"What the hell?" I gasped. I was pretty sure only Mom and Dad knew my last name. Hell even Em didn't know and I've known him for eight years. How'd she...

"Dude, what's your malfunction?" Emmett grumbled as he trampled down the steps. He held his big head in his hands and wore sunglasses despite the fact that the house was just a shade lighter than pitch black.

"What a big word. I see somebody's been taking a peek at the dictionary." I mumbled even in my awed state. He bumped my shoulder with his and stormed in to pillage the kitchen. His hit made me snap back to life and I jumped to it and began taking stairs two steps at a time.

I almost tackled Esme as I reached the landing. She screamed, I screamed and she dropped her basket of laundry. Then I screamed again and covered my ears. Emmett's groan from downstairs was just as loud as Esme.

"Ah! What the hell?!" I shrieked like a bitch and she slapped my shoulder.

"Watch your mouth! What's wrong with you? Why are you covering your ears?"

"When did you get here?" I asked, my voice still way too loud for the small hallway. She leaned over and flipped on the hall light, almost blinding me. I screwed my eyes shut and groaned.

"Why are you screaming? Are you drunk?" She asked loudly. I wasn't quite sure why either of us was still screaming. The initial shock had worn off. Well maybe she wasn't screaming… God, it sucked being hung over.

"What?" I wrinkled my nose. What the hell was she talking about?

"Drugs?" There was a soft giggle and Bella crossed the hallway from her room to go into the bathroom.

"Hey, I need to talk to you!" I said pointing to Bella over Esme's head.

"Later. I need to get ready-" Esme grabbed my chin and made me look down at her. She studied me cautiously, her eyes focusing on mine.

"You look sober..." Now. I snorted. She turned to wave at Bella over her shoulder and Bella smiled before closing the bathroom door.

Once Esme was satisfied that Bella wasn't coming out anytime soon she pointed to my room.

"Woah, my punishment ended last week."

"We need to speak." I sighed and took the laundry basket from her, carrying it to my room for her. She took a seat in the chair by my desk and I sat on my bed across from her.

"I think you should give Bella a little bit more space." I furrowed my eyebrows. "And stop being so aggressive, dear. You're going to scare her." I rolled my eyes and she lifted her eyebrows.

"I think she'll survive. I just want to talk to her." Esme mhm'ed and shook her head.

"Look, you two have gotten much closer than your father and I expected." She said slowly as she began separating out the clothes on my bed.

I threw up my hands and she lifted an eyebrow. "Isn't that a good thing? Jesus, you told me to play nice. I'm playing nice."

"Maybe a little too nice, huh?" First they were on my dick about not liking her, and now I apparently like her too much. What the fuck?

"What? I mean... No, actually I have no clue what you're talking about." I said. "But wait, what are you doing here? I thought you and dad-"

"You are not to have sexual relations with Isabella." She cut me off, still not answering my damned question.

"What about other relations?" I asked just to be a dick.

"I'd rather you two keep any and all body parts away from each other." She said softly, I could tell she was worried. But for what?

"I'm not going to sleep with Bella, Mom. We're just friends."

"I'm just telling you, because you know your father will probably have a heart attack if he sees you doing this." She shook her head and I gave a wry smile.

"I know, I know." I sighed and she smiled, clapping her hands together.

"Good, dear." She stood and pressed a kiss to my forehead before grabbing her basket and leaving the room. I groaned loudly and fell backwards on the bed.

My mind quickly left the conversation I'd had with mom, floating to the one with Isabella. Edward Masen? No one in Forks save my parents knew anything about that. The only thing I owned that had Edward Masen on it was my father's engraved watch. He wore it the night he died. I groaned as my mind travelled to that night. Or at least it tried to, I rubbed the heels of my hands against my eyes as I the only part of the night I still consciously remembered, echoed in my head.

My mother's screams.

The sound was ingrained into my memory. Sometimes it would haunt my dreams and I'd wake up in the night unable to stop screaming. I frowned and shot up on the bed. I crawled across the bed and leaned over the edge to get the small safe out. I quickly put in the combination and as the door clicked and went green to show that it was unlocked there was a soft knock on my door. I glanced longingly at the watch before slamming the door to the safe and calling for whomever to come in.

"Are you almost ready?" Bella's sweet voice asked from the door. "Emmett's already in the Jeep." The door closed again and I looked over my shoulder thinking that she'd left. She stood with her eyebrows furrowed and both hands on one strap of her backpack. "Edward, what's wrong?" She dropped her bag at the door and came to the bed, sitting next to me.

I touched my cheek and found it dry. Thank god. "What? Nothing. Why?" I asked, forcing a smile as I looked up at her.

She scooted closer to me and I leaned back a little. Just when Mom tells me not to make a move she gets all close… And hot. "Come 'ere." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around my neck, resting her head on my shoulder. I raised my eyebrows in shock and slowly hugged her back. My shoulders relaxed in her embrace and I let out a deep breath, surprised at the familiar comfort she brought me.

"It's okay." She whispered, her words caressing my mildly frazzled nerves. I sighed at her words and turned my face towards her neck breathing her in as I hugged her tightly. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion for a moment. How can a girl that I've known for a less than a month bring me more comfort than I've ever had with my family? I let go of the thought and just basked in her embrace.

"Edward! Emmett's waiti-" Carlisle boomed from the hallway before he went silent. Bella gave me one last squeeze and we both pulled away. I looked over her shoulder to see him pursing his lips. He cleared his throat and Bella stood. "Emmett's waiting outside." He said lowering his voice as to not scare Bella.

I stood as well, grabbing my backpack and waiting for Bella to exit before me. She greeted him with a happy "good morning" before heading downstairs. He put a hand up as I went to pass him.

"We're going to need to speak later." He said, looking into my eyes intently. I rolled my eyes and moved around him, heading out behind Bella.

"Shotgun!" She called over her shoulder before jumping into the car next to Emmett. I got in the back and he turned to glare at me.

"What?" I snapped, making Bella turn too. Emmett shook his head and we both looked at him. "What's your issue?"

"Dude, really?"

"We'll still make it to school in time." I huffed, assuming that that's what he was bitching about. "I'll even give Bella the grand tour before things start." He shook his head again and whipped out of the driving way, speeding towards school.

As we got out of the car everyone stared. And not just the usual stares that we already get; because I was a sex beast and Emmett was so fucking massive. No, today people stared curiously at the new comer, who had made the interesting choice of befriending the Cullen's. Of course it wasn't really her choice, but they didn't know that.

"Is it going to be like this all day?" She asked me as I jumped out of the car.

"Not if I have anything to do with it."

"Emmett, you can't intimidate an entire school." I rolled my eyes. "Stick with me, people won't fuck with you." I shrugged even though my statement sounded a little bravado-esque after she held me this morning.

"Okay," She smiled and bumped my arm with hers, showing me that she didn't think I was a wimp.

"And I lied earlier." I groaned glancing at the time on her small watch. "We aren't gonna have time for a tour." I bit my lip and she shrugged. "We only have time to get you to the office and then I'll walk you to class."

"Okay, thanks." She smiled and I had the inane urge to kiss her cute ass.

This was going to be a long, touchless year.

Emmett waved to us before going to join the rest of his roided up friends. I jerked my head in the direction of the office and then we turned to fight the late rush. We had to fight past the crowd a bustling teens trying to get to class and it was all visibly overwhelming for Bella. I grabbed her hand and lifted it to the crook of my arm before pushing past people. Anyone that I bumped or knocked into a little too hard Bella turned to apologize to them, only garnering more looks.

I groaned and pulled her in closer. Her apologies were slowing us down and we lost contact due to it. "Stay with me here."

"Sorry. You were just knocking into those people!" She gasped before slapping my arm. I shrugged and jumped as I felt a pinch on my ass. I turned to see Lauren wave at me from the crowd. I scowled because she knew I hated when she did that.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Jesus, when did it take so long to get to the office?

"Uh, no." The concept was laughable, so I chuckled under my breath. We finally reached the door and I held it open for her, before following her in.

"Hi, my name is Bella Swan, I'm new. I think my parents called ahead to talk with you all about my schedule." She told Mrs. Anderson, the sweet old lady who worked the secretarial desk. She was all smiles and cuteness until James 'The Creep' Hunter came from the nurse's office. He winked at her and she froze before gulping. I furrowed my eyebrows and put a hand on the small of her back, turning my own so that she was out of his sight.

Her eyes had become far away as she looked up to me. She'd gone completely pale and looked as though she'd seen a ghost. Her body slightly trembled and I furrowed my eyebrows, looking her over in confusion.

"I'm sorry… I can't." She whispered before breaking away from me and leaving the office. Mrs. Anderson looked up at me with her eyebrows furrowed and I shrugged before going after Bella.

I guess it was my turn to console.

_**So…?**_

_**Review? I'd love to hear your thoughts (And then reply this time!)**_


	7. Her First Day

_**Thanks to: jule2, SiddaCullen, dowlingnana, TwilightSy, janshanr, Chilly Howdy, sandy4321, dr. meow1234, xxunowhoxx, dazzleglo and tuti, for reviewing!**_

_**We're hearing from our girl Bella today!**_

**BPOV**

I groaned and brushed my hair back as I stared into the bathroom mirror. I was more than a little bit nervous about school today, but I worked through it. I was equally just as excited. It was going to be a good day. Going to school here would finally validate the realness of living in this fairytale.

Fresh start.

Perfect.

I loved my new parents, for all intents and purposes. They were extremely loving and open to talk anytime. Especially Esme, she felt more like a mother than my own ever did. I'd sat and had cookies with her almost every night since my coming, she always made time and that meant the world to me. Carlisle wasn't around _all_ of the time, but when he was here he was always looking to make sure I was comfortable, happy etc.

I had never smiled as much as I did in the Cullen house.

Their home was more than gorgeous and I loved everyone that it housed. Even the two mildly rowdy boys that were supposed to be my brothers. My two brothers who were extremely attractive may I add. Especially Edward. I knew about the whole no touching or fornicating rule set in place for the both of them. It was a godsend at first, because it wasn't necessarily like that in all of my previous homes. But when I saw the two of them standing in the drive way looking all serious and gorgeous, I about wet myself.

Emmett was a hulking guy, my initial thought of _him_ was that he was scary as all get out. Muscles covered every inch of his body. But upon my closer look he had a baby face that softened his appearance so much that I wanted to pinch his cheeks. His sparkling blue eyes looked much more innocent than they truly were. And he had dimples.

_Oh my god._

So unbelievably adorable.

Then there was Edward. Who was pretty much the same looking from a distance, and up close.

Broody.

But, dear god, he was gorgeous, like no one I'd ever met before. He had high cheek bones that rested under wide green eyes and lips that looked like they were only worthy of kissing angels. And a dimple that came out when he gave me that cute crooked smile that had stayed with him through the years. And if I hadn't known how truly harmless he really was, the whole bad boy act would have freaked me out.

I smiled at myself in the mirror as I thought about his smile over his cereal bowl this morning. It dropped completely as I went back to the conversation on the staircase. Of course I had to be all coy and blurt out his name. I palmed my forehead and shook my head at myself. Now he was curious.

I rolled my eyes and pulled on my shirt over my slightly damp skin. I hadn't had the time to completely dry off, if I had we would have been late. There was nothing worse than being late on the first day of school.

There was a knock on the door and I opened the door a crack to see who it was. When I saw that it was Esme, I opened it all the way to let her into the humid bathroom.

She giggled to herself when she walked in. "What?"

"It smells so much better in here now than when the boys shower." She laughed shaking her head. My mind wandered to less innocent things, like Edward in the shower. Edward _washing_ himself in the shower. I made a mental note to 'accidentally' walk in on him in the shower. It sounded creepy, but if you saw the boy you'd want to do the same thing. My mind's eye pictured him dragging a wash cloth down his chest… and lower.

Esme's soft voice pulled me out of my dirty fantasy about her son. Then I made a mental note to revisit said dirty fantasy a little later tonight.

"Edward isn't worrying you too much is he?" She asked softly.

"Not at all. Thank you for watching out for me, Esme… But to be honest I feel safe with both Edward and Emmett. More so than I've felt in years." I said honestly. They really were great, even though they were a tad bit aggressive. It worked in Edward's favor though; he looked good when he was angry.

"Oh that's good." She smiled and clapped her hands. "They like you two. I was worried at first, but both of them seem to take to you just well." She quickly came and hugged me and my eyes widened. She glanced up at the clock, "Oh my! I'm sorry, you've got to get a move on!" She gasped at herself. "I'll just stop distracting you." She hugged me again and left the room. I made sure she was gone before picking up my backpack and going for Edward's room.

When I knocked he said nothing and so I pushed open the door. He laid across the bed, his button up shirt had ridden up on his back and I bit my lip at the small sliver of skin there. I turned and shut the door, replacing my lusty gaze with a bright smile.

When he looked over his shoulder what I saw broke my heart. His eyes were full of pain, the same pain I saw when we first met him. The pain that told me he'd been thinking about his parents. I went to him, the pull that was always constant was too hard to resist this time.

He moved away at first, but I could tell that he really needed someone. Even if he acted otherwise. I moved toward him again and tossed my arms around his neck, resisting the urge to kiss his cheek, or stroke his hair. Again, it's sounded weird than it actually was.

His hug tightened and I was surprised at myself. No tightening of the chest, or sweat, I just felt at peace with him.

I rubbed his back lightly and smiled when he turned his head to my neck.

"It's okay." I sighed, breathing in his delicious manly scent.

Carlisle came down the hall talking loudly and Edward's back tensed. I frowned and pulled back once the door was opened. Carlisle froze for a moment before glaring at Edward. I glanced over my shoulder to see Edward's face harden.

I still didn't quite understand why the two of them didn't get along. They were both perfectly fine, and nice when they were separated, but together they were just an argument waiting to happen. I stood hoping that Edward would follow me to the car peacefully.

"Good morning." I said smiling at Carlisle as I passed him. I heard hushed grumbling behind me. But when I turned to look Edward was still behind me.

"Shotgun!"

-•-•-

The school was... It was really small. Like, unbelievably small. I knew as a whole that there was only a few hundred people. But I'd seen houses bigger than this school. Only on television of course. But still. As I climbed out of the car it became blatantly obvious that people were staring.

"Is it going to be like this all day?" I asked as the boys fell in line at my sides. Emmett assured me that it wouldn't be a problem with him around and Edward was quick to shut his brother down. Emmett broke away from our little group as a pack of huge guys waved to him. They weren't quite as big, but I didn't know high school kids could get that big.

It must be the milk here.

Edward informed me that we'd be going to the office before pushing his way through the oncoming crowd. After losing him a few times, he offered me his arm. I took it, happy to have an excuse to touch him. Of course there'd probably never be a day were I could touch him like the girl we passed in the crowd. She made eye contact with me and winked as she grabbed a handful of his butt. My eyebrows lifted as I watched the two of them interact.

But then he claimed that they weren't dating.

Huh…

I rolled my eyes once she disappeared and moved in closer to Edward, and then we were finally at the office. The tiny building had 'OFFICE' written in large green letters across the front door. He opened the door for me and I blushed, swooning at his gentlemanliness. It was surprisingly hard to find a guy that would open a door for a girl now-a-days.

I walked in in front of him and thanked him before turning to the sweet looking older woman behind the desk. I gave her a smile before I began speaking.

"Hi, my name is Bella Swan, I'm new. I think my parents called ahead to talk with you all about my schedule." The woman nodded and set to work on a computer and when I looked up over her head I saw cold blue eyes that could have stopped my heart. My heart picked up double time and I swallowed thickly as he winked.

How in the hell had he ended up here? Or at a school at all. My mind was begging me to run, hide… Anything to get away from him. Instead I stood stock still as he walked out of the office. My thoughts were bombarded with the memories of my struggle. Fighting to get away, crying for help, willing it to stop.

I tried to push past those things, like I always did. I would be okay, I was safe here.

I was saf_er_ here.

I was reminded of that I felt the pressure of Edward's hand on my back. At some point he'd moved in front of me, I pulled back from him.

_Leave. Get away._

_It was just Edward… My Edward…_ My hand ached to touch him, my arms to hold him. Anything to be closer to him, to make me feel safe.

_He could do the same things. _I blinked away the thoughts, or I tried to. _Leave. Run._

"I'm sorry… I can't." I choked out before running from the office. I checked to make sure _he_ was nowhere near me before heading for the parking lot. The cold air pierced my jacket and suddenly the day didn't seem as bright as it did just minutes ago. "Stop…" I whispered to myself, trying to keep myself from sinking. I could feel it all happening.

I walked farther into the parking lot until I reached Emmett's car. I took a seat on the running board and buried my head between my knees. My fingers clutched at the fabric of my jeans and I took slow, deep breaths.

Just like always. In and out, in and out. I clenched my hands into fists for thirty seconds, and released them for thirty seconds, when the pain of my nails biting into my flesh was too much. My mind continued to try and suck me in… Tried to take me back to that wretched place. But I couldn't go. For the sake of my sanity I could not go.

"Damn it." My words sounded like sobs and my breathing exercises quickly gave way. My breaths came in short pants and I sat up a little, wrapping my arms around my stomach. My body shook harshly as I cried, unable to hold back any longer.

"Bella?" I heard in the distance. I kept my head down and lifted the side of my jacket to protect my tear stained cheeks from the harsh, freezing wind. Edward's footsteps were loud as he approached and my first instinct was to shy away. "Hey… hey…" He coaxed softly, I squinted at him through my tears to see him crouching down in front of me, his arms wide. I shrank back, wishing I could just disappear into my coat.

"What the hell happened in there, Bella?" He asked, coming a little bit closer to me. He put a hand on my arm, rubbing it slowly.

I shook my head and furrowed my eyebrows, unable to stop crying long enough to speak. "S-sorry…" I cried. He shook his head, his eyes glowing with compassion and he moved in close enough that he could hug me. I whimpered at his touch before a calm wave washed over me, starting from all of the points where he touched me.

"It's okay… shh…" He pulled us into a standing position before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a lanyard and slipped the key into the lock of the passenger door. I sniffled as I watched him unlock the back doors before ushering me into the seat.

"You should… go… to class." I whimpered, unable to keep it together. I had been doing so well…

"Hell no, I'm not leaving you like this." He slid into the seat next to me and shut the door before pulling me back into his arms. I wiped my cheeks with my sleeve and buried my head in his neck, hugging him tighter. He rested his cheek on my head, his arm rubbing soothing circles on my back. "Jesus, Bella. Was it James 'The Creep'?" He asked. "Bella, talk to me, I'm at a complete loss." I nodded and wiped my cheeks once more, trying to regain my breath.

An annoying ringing sound came from somewhere in the car and Edward sighed. "Hold on." He dove between the two front seats. He grunted for a second before sitting back down with the phone in his hand. "You have to be quiet for a second okay?" He tilted my chin up so that I met his eyes. I nodded and he flipped the old phone open.

"Dr. Cullen speaking." He created, his voice taking on a softer quality and raising a little in pitch. It sounded a lot like Carlisle to my surprise. "Oh yes, sadly Edward's home with a fever, had to leave school a little early today. Isabella was sweet enough to stay with him, so she won't be in either, since Mrs. Cullen and I have to work." His eyebrows furrowed as he spoke and his voice cracked on the last word. He cursed silently and a chuckle slipped through my lips. "Yes, yes, you too, Mrs. Cooper." He nodded and rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh, goodbye." He hung up the phone and tossed it back into the front seat.

We sat in silence before he smirked at me, that cute dimple appearing. "Thought it'd be best to get a car phone… You know with all the shenanigans Em and I get into." He waved a hand and I smiled.

"There's that pretty smile." He thinks I'm pretty? I blushed and shook my head, swiping at my eyes. "Now are you gonna tell me what happened?"

"It has to do with what we talked about earlier-" He cut me off and lifted an eyebrow.

"In the kitchen, when you wouldn't tell me anything? Like what happened? Or how you know my name?" I nodded and he kicked up his legs on the console up front, throwing an arm over the back of my seat.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, just give me answers." I bit my lip as I looked into his curious eyes. I kind of wanted him to know, let him in. But then again he would probably think I was crazy, just like everyone else. No matter how kind he was in the past, or how sweet he was being, there was a good chance he just wouldn't believe me. I didn't want to ruin things with him, we had just met… Kind of.

So I told him just that.

"Edward, you won't believe me. No one does." I shrugged and swallowed thickly, shaking my head.

"There's a good chance I will believe you unless you start talking about witch craft or getting abducted by aliens…"

"Oh… never mind then." I looked down at the seat next to me.

"Wait… Are you serious?" I shook my head and chuckled a little.

"No, but I don't think you are going to want to hear it…" He rolled his eyes and patted his chest.

"Try me."

**So…?**

**Let's get our numbers up to 80 for an update on Tuesday?**

**You can do it! :D**


	8. Her Past

**Thanks to: twilight-stalker97, sandy4321, dr. meow1234, dazzleglo, tuti, xxunowhoxx, jule2, dowlingnana, lightfeatherxa, Brinkleydeelite, deception1812, TwilightSy, janshanr, and myhubbyissoedward.**

**You're reviews mean so much to me! Thank you!**

**And I am SOOOOO sorry. I had no idea that we'd passed eighty! I'm sorry! If we reach 103 this time I'll update tomorrow and I swear to that!**

"Try me." I challenged. She wrinkled her nose and I opened my arms to her. Let's be honest, we kind of had the magic touch with each other. I was hoping my embrace would calm her.

I was still extremely curious to know what happened in that office. Not to sound like a dick but they did only make eye contact, how much damage could that really do?

"I'm going to sound crazy."

"We're all a little bit crazy, that's okay." I said and she moved toward me, but instead of hugging me she turned her shoulder to my chest and wrapped my arm around her waist. I sighed and tried to ignore the intimate way we sat. I was extremely happy that she felt so comfortable with me. What I wasn't happy with was the half boner that threatened to appear if I shifted my hips.

I was worried about her and I really wanted to know what happened. But in case it wasn't aforementioned... Bella was hotter than the son. And from that angle I could see down her shirt.

But I didn't look.

I _tried _not to look.

"Edward?" She asked looking up at me with those gorgeous dark brown eyes. It was a fight not to just lean down and kiss her there.

"Hmm? I'm listening."

"I was..." She stopped and bit her lip before sniffling again. "I'm sorry." She cleared her throat and I frowned. I was curious but if it upset her that much to talk about whatever happened then it wasn't worth it. I didn't want her to hurt because I was a nosey bastard.

"It's okay." I sighed. "You don't have to tell me." She furrowed her eyebrows and I knew I was acting weird. Wanting to know one moment and waving it off the next.

"Look." She sat up and moved from under my arm, turning her torso so that she faced me. "When I was twelve I was-" she broke off and sighed, shaking her head. I reached out to touch her arm and tell her she didn't have to but then she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. "I was attacked." I lifted my eyebrows. How do I respond to that? I mean, everyone fights every once in awhile. Especially in foster homes.

"Uh..." I said brilliantly and she frowned.

"I was... _Sexually_ attacked." She winced with her words and my heart dropped. Sexually attacked. Who the fuck would do something like that to her. Sweet Bella was so pure, so precious.

"Like... raped?" I gasped and a tear slipped down her cheek. Her hands wrung in her lap and they shook softly. "What the hell?" I growled as my hands began to shake as well. Anger coursed through my my veins and I wanted to beat a fuckers face in.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you... I'm sorry, Edward." She reached forward to touch my hand before pulling back.

Why did it have to be her? Not that I'd want it to happen to someone else... But Bella was so perfect, so strong.

Why her?

"No, no. Thank you for telling me." I whispered sliding towards her on the seat. I pulled her into a hug and she tentatively wrapped her arms around me. "I know it was hard for you." She shrugged.

"I just didn't want you to think I was crazy..." She whispered. I furrowed my eyebrows. I was mildly confused and conflicted. I couldn't decide on if I wanted to be furious which I was. Or sad, which I also was as I held my Bella.

As I held _my_ Bella?

"Why would I think you're crazy?" I asked as warning bells went off. Of course I trusted Bella... But that was a weird thing to say. Was that her way of covering her tracks? I frowned and looked down at her.

"When I told my foster parents they accused me of lying and had me moved to a different home." She sighed and my fists clenched once more. How the fuck could they have a child in their care and pay her no mind when she's been raped. What dumb fucks are they allowing into the system now?

"Why would they do that?" I said loudly, making her flinch.

"Because he was the 'golden boy'… They also didn't think that a twelve year old would have any interest in sexual activity." I gasped and pulled away, to look her in the eye. "I know, it is kind of unlikely… But it happened, that's all I know. I wouldn't make something like that up." She said softly, her eyes shining with sadness.

"So they just sent you away?"

"From what I heard nothing ever happened to him." She pulled her lip into her mouth and cast her eyes downward.

"So there's just some child rapist running around?" I gasped. What the hell would possess people to just over look something as big as rape. Even if they had a suspicion that she might be lying they should have followed up. Taken her to a doctor. She was probably so fucking scared.

"Well, he isn't a kid anymore, he's our age now. Now that I look back on it though, I realize that they let him go to avoid any future problems. They didn't want to have to go to court for two kids they weren't even related to." She shrugged and I shook my head.

"That's still ridiculous."

"I know. But it was six years ago. I've kind of gotten past it." She whispered as though she was trying to calm _me_ down. All this shit happens to her and she spends her time trying to console me.

"What do you mean you've gotten past it? How do you just move past something like that?!" Hell, I wasn't past it and it didn't even happen to me. I just wanted to go find that fucker and kill him with my bare fucking hands.

"I've learned how to cope." She whispered with a nod. "Edward, calm down. It really was a long time ago. We can't even do anything about it six years later." She placed a small warm hand on my cheek and I leaned into her palm.

"Jesus, Bella." It was then and there that I realized Bella was probably one of the strongest people I knew. She'd apparently lost her parents, and been taken advantage of as a young child?

"Really," She said, still trying to convince me that she was okay. "I've researched it, I've seen a therapist once or twice and I know what my triggers are. So I can avoid being reminded of it as much as possible. Today was the worst I've had in about a year now."

"What's your trigger? Big, creepy looking fuckers?" I asked seriously and she shrugged. "I thought you knew what they were."

"I do, I'm just not quite sure what it was about today… That's probably why I didn't see it coming."

"That and everything here is completely new to you." I pointed out, placing my hand over hers and lacing our fingers together. In hindsight, it was probably way to intimate of a move for two people that are supposed to act as siblings… She didn't seem to mind though, as she just smiled and moved in closer to me.

"Yeah, I don't even know what it was about that guy." Her eyes darted up and to the left as she spoke. She was lying. And she was quite bad at it too. I sighed and rested our hands in my lap.

"Tell me the truth." Her eyes darted to mine and she pulled her hand away.

"Edward, shouldn't we go to class now? We've been in here for…" She looked between the seats, standing to look at the clock on the dashboard. And even after all that we'd just discussed I couldn't stop myself from taking a peek at her ass. Have I mentioned that Bella was gorgeous? Because it was kind of hard not to look at someone when they looked like she did. "We've been in here for two hours!"

"So? No one is looking for us." I shrugged and leaned back against the seat.

"It's making me antsy, just staying here in the parking lot like sitting ducks…"

"We've been here for two hours and you're just now getting antsy?" I asked, lifting a disbelieving eyebrow. "Just tell me what the problem with Hunter was."

"Oh his name is Hunter?" She asked, pulling her chin back in shock. Her shoulders relaxed visibly and I lifted an eyebrow.

"You know him from somewhere else?"

"Apparently not." She said before expelling a relieved breath. What the fuck wasn't she telling me?

"Bella, how are you just going to start withholding information? Everything you just told me and you can't tell me how you know Hunter?" I asked a little annoyed. Her hands wrung in her lap and I realized I was making her nervous.

Fuck.

I closed my eyes for a second and tried to pull myself together. _Just stop being a dick for like… a minute._ Hey, I was new at this, I didn't want to over exert myself. But I would try.

For her.

I waited until she was completely seated before taking her hand again. "I'm sorry." I said, lowering my voice. She nodded and I stroked my thumb over the back of her hand.

"Edward, I just… I know that you've gotten in trouble for fighting and what not before… I don't want you getting expelled or something because of me. Especially when it's not really a big deal anymore. Anyway, I had the wrong person." She shook her head and gave me a lame excuse for a smile.

I frowned and tried to piece shit together, since she obviously wasn't going to tell me. Why would I be fighting with Hunter? I mean, sure, he's a fucking creep. But he was kind of harmless. The way Bella freaked after seeing him didn't make him seem so harmless though…

He couldn't have triggered anything that Carlisle didn't trigger. Hell, they both had the same basics, despite them looking vastly different. White male, blonde hair, blue eyes… teeth. Hunter was younger than Carlisle… He was our age. I furrowed my eyebrows.

Unless…

"_Fucking Hunter did this shit to you_?!" I roared, making her wince and back away from me. I felt a intense heat spread over my face and my fists clenched.

"Edward?" She gasped at my outburst. Well she was right not to tell me because I was about to track that fucker down and run him over with a car.

"That _motherfucker!_" I hissed, ripping a hand roughly through my hair. Bella grabbed my hand in both of hers, holding it to her chest as she came closer.

"Don't do anything rash, Edward." She warned seriously.

"Rash? Like rape a fucking twelve year old? I'm going to kill that creepy fuck."

"Rash like doing something that could cause him to press charges." She said. I grunted and turned to look out of the window. She looked so deadly serious, if I continued to look at her I'd definitely abandon the want to kill him. "Edward if you end up doing something seriously bad, you could be tried as an adult in court."

"I don't give a fuck!" I yelled. "As long as I can rid the world of one more rapist I'll consider myself a hero." My face was probably the shade of a tomato, I was so fucking pissed. All that ran through my head were ways to fuck him up permanently.

"Edward, please…"

"Bella, not only did he do this to you, but he probably went on to do it to other little girls!"

"Hunter didn't touch me, Edward!" She said, yelling over me. I stopped raging for a second and lifted an eyebrow.

I threw up my hands, thoroughly confused. "Then what the hell upset you?"

She tugged her hands though her hair, "He just looks like the kid that… you know… But I knew this kid, his name wasn't Hunter. So just leave this guy alone okay?" She reached out and touched my chin, making me turn to look at her.

"Damn it, Bella…" I sighed, massaging my temples.

"I'm sorry! But to be honest, you jumped to conclusions." She shrugged and I glared at her. "Edward, look. It doesn't really affect me anymore. So just let it go." She said before coaxing me to take a deep breath.

"You're right. I did jump to conclusions… I'm sorry." I took deep breaths with her and we turned so that we sat shoulder to shoulder. I cut my eyes to her and stared out of the corner of my eye. "But… Hunter's first name is James." Her head snapped up and the breath whooshed out of her lungs. She went deathly pale again and her hands shot to the door, she began to fumble to open it.

"You're kidding?" She gasped before pushing the door open and stumbling out of the car. I scooted out after her and pulled her into my arms before she ended up passing out on the concrete. I rubbed her back and whispered gentle words of reassurance. I told her nothing would happen to her, and that everything would be fine. I would stay with her as much as possible, I promised. I would protect her.

And I meant every damn word.

**What'd you think?**

**Remember, 103!**


	9. My Never Ending Irritation: Part 1

**Thanks to: twilight-stalker97, dowlingnana, sandy4321, dazzleglo, tuti, SiddaCullen, janshanr, 1234, jule2, Scarlett Rose Monroe and theamazingtracy.**

Bella moved around the kitchen easily as if she'd lived here her whole life. Hell, I was still trying to get used to things as Esme moved everything around at least three times a month. Regardless of the constant switching she was a pro. And despite our protests, s-2he was making lunch for the three of us during our double lunch.

"Bella, you don't have to do this… We can just head to the dinner-" She spun and lifted an eyebrow at me.

"That's about the fourth time you've said that, despite the fact that I told you I want to do this." Emmett walked in the room slapping my back as he crunched loudly on potato chips.

"Yeah, man, stop harshing on her." He mumbled around a mouth of pulverized chips. "Let her do this for us." He slung an arm around Bella and smacked a kiss on her cheek making her chuckle.

Of course that fucker could touch her and no one would worry at all. I couldn't step within three feet of the girl without someone questioning my intention.

My fists clenched as he stood with her, watching her make something in a sizzling skillet. I didn't like him being so casual with her. How was I to know if he was crossing boundaries when I didn't know what they were? He and Carlisle alike were so careless around her.

I knew she wasn't made out of glass but the fuckers could watch their hands a little more. I just wanted my poor Bella to be comfortable, and relaxed. I wanted her to know that she was safe with us, with me. How was I supposed to do that when Emmett's hauling her over his shoulder when he gets excited and shit?

Bella bumped his hip with hers and chuckled as they spoke about something or another. I just watched my Bella's body language, if Emmett did something to make her uncomfortable I'd fuck him up in no time.

"It's just a hamburger, Edward." Bella said over her shoulder. I hated that she felt the need to take care of us when she's been through so much. I wanted to do something for her, make her feel better. But I didn't know how to cook jack shit, or even get her alone for that matter.

I was pathetic.

She handed Emmett two plates and he set them on the table, leaving her to bring the last and set it in front of me.

"I'm gonna go wash my hands because I'm not quite sure what I touched but my hands smell like-" I held up a hand and Bella snorted.

"Spare us the details, please." I groaned and he headed to the kitchen sink but Bella stopped him as she sat next to me.

"Hey, that's busted; any water will just drain into the cabinet." She said, he nodded and jogged up the stairs. I furrowed my eyebrows, I used that sink earlier… It worked just fine.

"What's up with you?" Bella asked pulling her chair towards mine.

I shook my head, "Nothing, how are you?" My eyes scanned over her face and she grimaced, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Are you mad at me?" I shook my head, narrowing my eyes in confusion.

"Why would you think I'm mad at you?" I asked brushing a bit of hair off of her forehead. Her deep brown eyes went from confused, to worried, to annoyed in point three seconds. She took my hand and lowered it to her lap.

"Is this about what I told you Monday? You've been acting weird- Jeeze, Edward." She huffed and slumped back in her chair. I let go of her hand and frowned. I hadn't been acting weird. She rolled her eyes and looked down at her plate as Emmett's footsteps echoed in the small stairway.

"Acting weird?" I whispered and she shook her head before smiling up at Emmett.

"Aw, man, I shouldn't have left you two alone. Are you okay?" He asked Bella, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder.

See what I mean? I don't know what it was that made everyone think I wanted to kill Bella; or whatever the fuck they assumed I was going to do. I wouldn't touch a single strand of hair on her head. And I would fuck up anyone who did.

So why was I such a supposed threat?

"I'm fine." She said with a wary glance in my direction. I knew she was worried about how I would react, but that clearly wasn't what Emmett though it meant.

"Bella, you can tell me-"

"Fuck off. I didn't do anything to her." I scoffed and felt Bella's hand on my leg. I knew she would feel guilty, but it wasn't her fault that my family thought I was a criminal. Emmett and Bella had a long conversation with their eyes and I started eating. By the time Emmett took a seat I was halfway finished with the burger. I was getting a little fucking tired of all of this 'Edward's the enemy' shit.

I eyed the burger for a moment before deciding that it wasn't worth my sanity. "Edward-" I got up and threw the left over hamburger into the trash bin, ignoring Emmett. Yeah, I was acting like a bitch but I was so fucking tired of his shit, everyone's. I just wanted to make sure my girl was okay. I didn't want to be prosecuted for watching out for her.

I heard a soft padding behind me and a small hand grabbed my elbow. "I know you aren't ready to talk now," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small key. "But tonight, meet me in my room." She held my eyes until I nodded and leaned up to hug me. "But for now, calm down. I'm okay." I sighed in her comforting embrace, and wrapped my arms around her small waist. I hummed as her soft body pressed against mine in all the right places. She rested her forehead in the crook of my neck and rubbed my back.

"If you have any problems, call me. I don't care where the fuck I am." I lean back to catch her eye and she nodded, her eyes flickering down to my lips. I inwardly groaned because the pull to duck down and capture those soft, full, pink lips was unbearable. I broke away from her and she frowned.

"Do you want to ride back with me?" I asked, sticking my keys into my jacket pocket. Her eyes lit up and her mouth opened.

"I don't think so. It'd probably be best if she came with me." Emmett said, stepping out of the doorway to the kitchen and folding his arms over his chest. I rolled my eyes and she patted my shoulder before whispering 'goodbye'.

I turned and headed to my car. Emmett pissed me off to no fucking end. Where did he get off thinking he was so much better than me any fucking way? He'd spoken about her like she was a slab of meat since before we even met her. I didn't understand, what they were so worried about anyway?

I've never, nor will I ever, done a thing to any woman. Why they thought I was such a threat to Bella was a mystery to me. Sure I messed with Emmett, but that was mutual, he was a guy and he was also like six three and a hundred pounds heavier in pure muscle. He was a man; my sweet Bella was just a fragile girl. So if that's what they formed their opinion on, it was a piss poor excuse for a reference.

I headed out of the door and jumped into my car before pulling out of the driveway and speeding to school. The last two bells of school were the worst. It always seemed like you were free during lunch, then you had to go right back to the hell hole. I scowled through two equally boring lesson's, only to let up when the final bell rang.

"Did you see Ben today?" Ange asked as we headed out of English. She looked excited, her brown eyes sparkling as she spoke.

"No, why would I have?" That kid was weird as fuck.

"What's stuck up your ass?" She asked, her smile flipping into a frown as Jasper flanked her side.

"Girl trouble." He chuckled and she smirked up at me. I rolled my eyes and headed to my locker, not anticipating both of them following me. "Is it Lauren again?"

"Again? Ooh Edward's getting it in." I sighed. I always got it in and both of them knew it so why the fuck was it so important today.

"How're things going with Brandon, Jasper?" I asked opening my locker and purposefully hitting him with it as he lounged against the neighboring locker.

"Throw me under the bus why don't you?" He bitched and kicked my locker shut. "And for your information, I'm working on things with her." He flipped his hair over his shoulder and shrugged.

"Mhm… When was the last time she met you willingly?" Angela asked lifting an eyebrow. Jasper made a swiping motion in the air before pushing off of the locker and leaving us alone. "So… Despite your Bella problems, I think I'll befriend her."

"Who talks like that?" I asked, stuffing shit into my backpack. "And I never said that my problem was with Bella."

"But it is?"

"It's not."

"Well anyway, I have a feeling that we should be friends." She stated, much more brazen than usual. I lifted an eyebrow in her direction and she huffed. She wanted me to question her and I wasn't playing her games, she was being almost as annoying as Lauren.

"Well aren't you going to ask why?" She urged, watching as I closed my locker.

"No." I said shortly, pulling out my keys and swinging them around my finger as I looked for Bella. If I could get to her before Emmett then I could see her before we were sent our opposite ways at home.

"Ask why, damn it." She demanded, snapping at me and pointing at herself. Since when was she so talkative?

"Why? And while you're at it why don't you tell me about your day as well."

"I would but I have a violin lesson in twenty." She shrugged and followed me as I started toward my car. "I think Bella can help me-" She stopped talking to me and I cut my eyes to her. She glared, "You know what, never mind. I'll tell you on a day when you're not hell bent on being an asshole." She spun on her heel and went to walk away when I grabbed the strap of her backpack.

I used it to keep contact as she walked through a throng of people. "Ange, Ange, I'm sorry, I just have a lot of shit on my mind." I huffed and she nodded before breaking away from me and heading toward the music wing. "Damn it…" I huffed. This is why I kept to myself, I usually only fucked things up.

"Edward?" I felt a soft hand grab mine and turned to see Bella looking up at me. Her wide, brown eyes were concerned and I sighed.

"Are you coming with me?" I asked, wishing I didn't have to sneak around to spend time with her.

"Sure, if that's alright with you…" She said giving me a hesitant smile that made my own appear. With Bella around things didn't seem so shitty. It was like she had the ability to just soak up my stress and worries.

"Of course it is." She slipped her fingers through mine to get a better grip on my hand and moved closer to me.

"Oh, Bella!" Emmett's loud ass screamed from across the hallway. Bella jumped and I swiped my thumb over the back of her hand before we both let go. "There you are-" He grunted, pushing past all of the moving people. I stepped away from her a little bit and she frowned at Emmett.

"I think I'm going to ride with Edward, I have a question about Biology…" She looked up to me and smiled before turning back to our brother.

"You sure?" Again with the wary looks my way. I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Okay… See you at home."

"Okay, bye." She smiled and waved as he disappeared into the crowd. She looped her arm through mine and we headed out of the door. People were looking a little bit, not as much as the first day though. "Are we too close for '_siblings'_?" She asked, stretching the word with a giggle.

I shook my head, "If we are I could care less." Hell, I was just glad to be able to spend time with her.

"What question do you have for me?" I asked when we were both seated. She pulled on her seatbelt and swiped her tongue over her bottom lip before pulling it into her mouth. I resisted biting my own lip at the innocent display that was doing downright sinful things to me.

"Where do we stand?"

Well… That was a good one.

One I wasn't so sure I had an answer to.

**Leave me a review! If we get to 110 before Wed. then I'll update on that earlier day…**

**I hope that made sense?**

**Review!**


	10. Her Question

**Thanks to: sandy4321, 1234, dazzleglo,** **dowlingnana, tuti, janshanr, and kokoSweetHeart. Your reviews mean a lot to me, thank you!**

**BPOV**

"Where do we stand?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. He lifted his eyebrows and filled his cheeks with air before blowing it out in a long gust of air.

The last thing I wanted to do was freak him out, or have him think that I wanted something from him now that he knew. Of course from the beginning I wanted something more from Edward. Something more than I had with Emmett or cute little Mike Newton who I guess could be considered my friend. But I couldn't tell Edward that, because once again, I didn't want to freak him out.

"I… I don't know." He turned to me and I rethought my bringing this up at the moment. He looked just a bit confused but his eyes told a different story. They told the same story they did eight years ago. He was fed up, annoyed and done. He had this large wall up but I could see through it and I hated what I saw.

He was upset.

"Edward," I whispered, furrowing my eyebrows as we locked eyes.

"What?" His eyes widened and he lifted my hand from my lap. "I'm sorry, I just don't know…"

"No, not that. What's wrong?" It couldn't be his parents because he looked downright tortured when he thought of them. He just looked exhausted now.

"Nothing…?" There was a thump on the door and we looked up to see Emmett standing at the window. Edward started the car and flipped off his brother before peeling out of his space.

"Look, tonight, I'm coming to your room and we're going to talk about this, okay?" I know I'd given him a key at lunch but with him being in a mood I wasn't sure he'd actually come.

"About what?"

"Everything." We weren't going to get anywhere at the rate we were going now.

He sighed and just as I began to think he was angry with me, he picked up my hand and placed it into his lap. He held it the entire way home, and I wasn't able to stop smiling. I probably looked like an idiot but he made me happy, and I wasn't afraid for him to know it. I cast a glance at him as he drove home and my smile widened when I saw him smirking.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked, squeezing my hand as we pulled up to a stop light.

"You." I said simply and he lifted an eyebrow.

"Me? What'd I do?" I didn't know how to explain. He made me feel complete, like I wasn't so empty anymore. But, again, I couldn't tell him how important he was to me without freaking him out. And I needed him with me, so freaking wasn't an option.

"You're just you." I said stupidly, making him chuckle. All traces of the worried, distressed boy I spoke to in the apartment were gone. Leaving me and my Edward. This new, jaded and crass Edward wasn't my childhood friend. The happy one that smiled often and loved hugs, that was my Edward. They say people change but I know that deep down my Edward was still there.

Not that I didn't like the new Edward. He was mysterious, even to me, and hot. Long gone was the little boy with chubby cheeks and easily triggered blush. In his place was a tall, strong man that epitomized manliness and was the definition of the word sexy. Oh yeah, he'd changed quite a bit since child hood. His face had matured and become sharper, his jaw line strong, just like his nose, both which were offset by full, pouty lips and gorgeous almond shaped green eyes.

He was perfect.

"Hmm…" He hummed as we pulled into the driveway behind Emmett who stood next to his Jeep with his arms folded.

"We need to talk more-"

"That's not going to happen with them around…" Edward said, his eyes hardening as they flicked from me to Emmett. I touched his cheek and made him hold my gaze.

"Can I come to your room tonight?" I whispered, knowing that it wasn't the best idea. But I needed to see him, for some reason everyone made Edward and I keep our distance when all I wanted was to be close to him, to be with him.

"Sure, what time?" I grinned at his agreement and he winked.

"As soon as everyone else is asleep for the night. I don't want to be disturbed." I cupped his cheek and he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Get your mind out of the gutter." I said as soon as mine dived into it. Images of the two of us in compromising positions assaulted my mind, making me blush. "Don't forget. Tonight."

"This is definitely something I won't be forgetting." He smirked and I grinned, leaning forward and pecking his cheek. My self-control was seriously lacking when it came to him. I pulled away and glanced out to see Emmett about to blow a gasket as he approached the car. When I looked back to Edward, his cheeks were spattered with red, making me giggle.

I bit my lip as I crept across the hallway. Carlisle and Esme's bedroom light was already on, but I couldn't wait any longer. Edward ended up in his room the entire day and when I wasn't helping Esme around the house I was doing homework downstairs. I held my breath and everything as I passed their room. When I reached the heavy wood of Edward's door I let out a gust of air.  
"Edward?" I whispered as the door creaked open. The room was dark and there was a light coming from his closet. I wasn't sure why he'd be in his closet, but I let it go and pulled open the door. Maybe it was so that we could talk a little more normally.  
But when I opened the door a gust of warm, delicious smelling air hit me. I gasped when I realized that it wasn't a closet but a bathroom. I breathed in the moist foggy air as I stood still watching Edward taking a comb through his hair in the mirror.  
Wearing nothing but a towel.  
I bit my lip as my eyes traveled up the strong, sinewy surface of his arms, over his strong chest. I knew Edward was built but I had no clue that he looked like this. His chest was well defined, and no match for the delicious six pack he was sporting.  
Beads of water dripped from his hair as he combed it and dropped onto the tan skin of his back, rolling slowly down until it reached his towel.  
One that I was considering pulling off.  
My goodness I was getting more than appropriately worked up at the sight of Edward. He was gorgeous clothed, but there was no comparison to him half naked and wet.  
"You gonna keep staring at me? Or are you planning on coming in?" I laughed and blushed at being caught. I walked into the bathroom, standing next to him at the sink. He lifted an eyebrow and I turned perpendicular to him, so that I could watch him.  
"I'm sorry, you're just so hot." I hummed, laying a hand on his forearm and making him smirk. I about fainted at the sight of the dimple, it was cute usually. But with the abs and overall beauty, the dimple was lethal.  
"You think so?" He chuckled, turning toward me and tilting my chin up when my eyes dropped curiously to the towel that was leaving a little too much to the imagination.  
Come on, Bella. One flick of the wrist...  
"I know so." I sigh, leaning in toward him as his eyes looked at my lips.  
His eyes smoldered as he looked into mine. "Well I think you're absolutely gorgeous." It was too much. My knees gave out and he caught me, not even calling me out when I used his chest and shoulders to help me steady myself. "Woah..." He smiled and lifted me onto the counter.  
I held my hands in my lap as I looked at him, afraid I'd paw him again. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" I had officially stopped listening at the word was, in lieu of staring at his gorgeous body.  
"Up here." I blushed and looked up at him.  
"If you'd put on a shirt it would help me think..." I said and his face dropped.  
"Oh shit, Bella, I'm sorry." He groaned and was out of the bathroom in a second.  
What?  
I moved off of the counter and followed him into his room. By the time I reached the doorway, his tight butt was covered by a pair of boxer briefs and he was pulling on a shirt.  
"Why are you sorry?" I furrowed my eyebrows and he sighed.  
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I coughed. I was anything but uncomfortable. I probably made him uncomfortable with all of my staring.  
"What?" Then I realized the answer to so many of my questions. He was worried that I'd have another episode. Did I scare him?  
"I know that you've been through some things and I don't want you not feeling safe. Especially around me." He shook his head and fell back against his bed. There he was.  
I smiled as I looked at my Edward, the one always concerned about others. Doing anything to help them. Anything to help me.  
"Is that why you've been so... On edge?" I asked going to his desk chair and plopping into it. He leaned forward on his bed and shrugged.  
"Yeah, I guess." His jaw locked and I bit my lip, still working my way through my lusty "Edward is wet" phase.  
"Don't be, I've dealt with this for six years now and I can get through daily life. I've lived with plenty of Emmett's and other boys; I'm used to them." I smiled to let him know I was being completely honest. He scowled and I sighed, I hated it when he did that. And he did it way too often. I pushed the rolling chair away from the desk and the loud wheels made me gasp as I went shooting towards Edward. He caught me, stopping the chair between his legs, and shushed me quickly.  
A door down the hall opened and there were heavy footsteps.  
"You okay, Edward?" Carlisle asked softly with a knock on the door.  
"Yeah, I just forgot that the wheels were messed up on the chair. My bad."

"Alright, night."

"Night." I watched the exchange with wide eyes, my hands cupping my mouth. Once we heard Carlisle footsteps getting farther I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. My eyes shot to Edward who smirked at me.  
I whispered, "What?" And he began laughing, pulling me and the chair into his embrace.  
"You're so fucking cute." He laughed, resting his forehead on my shoulder. My gaping mouth turned into a smile as I looked at him. He lifted up and mocked me, his mouth gaping and his green eyes as wide as saucers. I playfully slapped his shoulder and he chuckled. I pursed my lips in faux annoyance and he attempted to stop laughing.  
"Okay, okay..." He sighed, putting a hand on my thigh as he looked up at me. When he was completely sobered he cleared his throat. "So what is it that makes you uncomfortable?"  
"Light, friendly touching isn't something I have a problem with. So hugging or putting an arm around my shoulder like Emmett does, not a problem." He nodded and rolled his eyes at my mention of Emmett.  
"What is a problem... Kissing and, like, sexual stuff?" He asked. And I inwardly teenage girl'd. You know, the whole screamy, excited bounce thing. Even though his question was probably innocent.  
"I wouldn't know. I'm not sure how far into things I would get triggered if at all." I shrugged, playing it cool. My god how I hoped he would help me find out. Well, not trigger but just... Touch me... "But don't worry yourself over me not feeling comfortable. You'll drive yourself crazy. I know how to let people know that they need to back off." I said, lacing my fingers with his. "Thank you for looking out for me." I said with a smile. It was endlessly adorable that he was watching out for me and I wanted him to know that I appreciated it.  
"Well I guess this-" He held up our entwined hands. "leads me to my next question." He said quietly. "I want to know what this is too. I know that you're different and so you should be something... Different. Fuck, I sound idiotic." He ran his free hand through his hair and frowned.

"No you don't." I shook my head and squeezed his hand.

"I just... You aren't like Ange- in terms of the way I feel?" He lifted an eyebrow phrasing his words like a question. "And you aren't like Lauren... But your more of a mix, except... Not."

And... I was lost.

I got that he was trying to compare me to the women in his life but I didn't know either if them well, or what he was trying to say.

"Okay, I guess I want to say that you're different." I smiled at his rambling. "I like you, Bella. More than I should, if that makes sense? I like you as a person and I'm more than attracted to you... And I want to be more than friends." I furrowed my eyebrows and he sighed.

"Like friends with benefits?" I asked, leaning back in my chair a bit.

"What? No." He blushed and my heart melted. "I dunno... Like my girlfriend?" My heart skipped a beat, just at his words. "But we can't?"

"Why is that?" I asked wanting to know whose butt I needed to kick to be with him.

"Because how are we going to be together if we can't actually ever be together? I don't want you to be slighted. You're more important than that." I grinned and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Edward, we can be together." I cupped his cheek, and made his sad eyes meet mine. "We'll just have to keep it from them..."

"That's no way to be happy. I've never done this before, Bella. I don't know how to have a relationship but I know that you aren't supposed to keep it secret. Hell, if you'll have me I want everyone to know you're mine." I chuckled. "I want to be able to take you on dates and talk to you at home without being supervised." He continued. "I think you deserve that much."

"You deserve the same," I whispered, cupping his cheek. "But Edward, you're enough for me. You're all that I want out of this; I don't care about dates or anything. I just want to be with you." I wouldn't care if we were stuck out in a desert, as long as I had him I'd be alright.

"Just me?" He asked, our gazes locked.

"Just you." I smiled and his eyes flicked from my eyes to my lips.

"You're sure?"

"More sure than I've ever been." I nodded and leaned forward to do what I've wanted to do the most since we met for the second time. He smiled as our lips met gently and I sighed into his mouth.

"I've been waiting to do that since we met." He whispered against my lips before kissing me sweetly. He swiveled my chair so that I sat facing him, between his legs.

"Me too." I trailed my fingers through his damp hair and climbed into his lap.

"Even better than I imagined." He chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into another delicious kiss.

Now the only problem now would be learning how to stop.

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	11. My Little Slice of Proma

Thanks to: lovestuck93, kokoSweetHeart, dowlingnana, 1234, sandy4321, jule2, tuti, dazzleglo, Ilders1029, and TwilightSy.

It was what they called Proma season in Forks, Washington. The junior and senior prom was a month and a half away and people scrambled around the school trying to get dates and find out who got asked.

Meanwhile, I didn't give a shit.

Why the fuck would I want to go to prom? I'd been asked about three times already and had no interest. If there was one person I'd risk going to prom with, it'd be Bella. And there wasn't any chance that that'd happen. Carlisle would probably castrate me if I was asking Bella to prom.

So I'd stay home. Probably pig out and watch movies. But my not going to prom didn't make me deaf to all of the proma. For those of you who never went to high school or had friends, that's "Prom Drama".

Especially when that proma had to deal with the hot, new girl. The hot, elusive, new girl. The new girl that was mine. It seemed like the whole male population wanted to ask her. And I would gladly beat the shit out of each and every one of them.

Then on the other hand you had girls like Angela. The girls sitting back and watching all of the other girls in the school get asked. I knew she was beginning to get bitter at this point. She'd told me that much. Junior year she and Jasper went together, so she didn't have a problem. But now that Jazz found Alice, she's worried that she'll have to go stag. I would take her if I went to prom. Angela, had always been a good friend, despite the threats. And I hated seeing her so upset.

"My god," she complained as we watched Tyler Crowley present a bouquet of flowers to Michelle in our English class. Behind him stood four of his friends with one letter of prom painted on their chests.

"This is literally hell on earth. Fuck all of these happy people. I'll just sleep through prom." She grumbled, as she watched Michelle jump up and hug Tyler tightly. The class, sans Angela and me, clapped and catcalled at the couple. Angela slammed her books closed and as was out of her chair a second before the bell rang, darting out of class. I chuckled at the classes shocked reactions. Their eyes were now on the door instead of the couple. I shook my head and went to follow after her when I stepped on something hard and crackley. I looked down to see my foot crushing the stems of a few roses. I stepped off of them and looked up to the owner, a sad looking Ben Chenney staring at the door my friend had disappeared out of.

"You were going to ask Ange to prom?" I asked before snorting. Chenney was this tiny shrimp of a loser. Well actually I guess he wasn't that tiny any more. He stood and came up to about my nose, he was still built like a punk though. His face was red and he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"No… no… not if you two are going together or something. Sorry I didn't know. I haven't been on Facebook in days… I just thought it'd be nice to have a date for this one. But I thought you and Ange might have been a thing, I don't know. She's always rude to you so I thought you weren't, but I guess you actually are." He rambled; I rolled my eyes and looked down at my phone with a sigh.

"Dude, are you done?" I asked impatiently because in all honesty I didn't have time to stand around and listen to him.

"Yeah, sorry." I saw that his hands shook as he grabbed up his books and the flowers. Aw he was afraid of me…

Well, that just means I do my job and I do it well.

"Well first of all, I'm not asking Ange to prom. Second of all, don't do it in a public setting like this one, because she'll probably say no if you embarrass her." I informed. For some reason Angela was actually interested in this dweeb so I guess I'd help her because we were friends…

Damn, I'm a good person.

"Go to her house, make a poster or something equally as generic and ask her that way. She'll like it and maybe you'll make her feel like a real boy." I chuckled at myself and he stood gaping at me. "What the fuck? I didn't tell you to go rape her cat… Just ask her to prom." His lip quivered and I took a step back because he was either about to cry or kiss me and I was equally disgusted by both.

"Are you, like, giving me your blessing?"

"What?" I yanked my head back and lifted an eyebrow. I really had no fucking clue what Angela saw in the kid. He was a pussy.

"I blessing… to ask Angela?" He asked with wide eyes.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, man?" I whispered before backing away from him.

"Wait! I'm sorry, is there anything else I should know?" He asked, clutching his books to his chest.

"Uh, yeah. If you hurt her I will kill you and dump your ass in the creek." I said with an affirmative nod before heading out of the door. He literally squealed as I left the room and I rolled my eyes. Angela stood outside of the classroom door with her backpack slung over her shoulder when I came out.

"What did you do?!" She yelled, the loudest I had ever heard her speak. I chuckled and slung an arm over her shoulder. She pushed me away and punched me in the side. "Why were you talking to Ben, asshole?!" She asked, her voice quieting as he walked out of the room. I turned her so that we could walk towards my locker.

"Don't worry about it."

"You are the biggest dick!"

"I think you mean 'have'." She punched me in the arm and stormed away from me as I laughed. I started tossing shit into my backpack when I felt a warm body press up against my back. I sighed and zipped up my backpack before turning to face Lauren.

"Go away." I ordered bluntly.

"Edward, baby, it's been too long." She leaned forward and dragged her nose along my jaw, her hands gripping my arms. She kissed my jaw and I rolled my eyes. "I'm literally, so wet for you." She whispered in my ear before biting my earlobe.

"I'm sure. If you don't mind, I'd like to leave." I turned as so that I wasn't trapped against my locker. She didn't seem to mind that half of the fucking school was in the hall watching us. I sneered at the crowd and grabbed her hips, pushing her back.

"Lauren. Stop." I slammed my locker door closed and walked away. I heard her hooker heels clacking on the ground loudly behind me and rolled my eyes.

"Edward! What, what, what are you doing?!" She squeaked I rolled my eyes as she followed my out of the building. "This is like the fifth time this week."

I groaned and turned to her when I reached my car. "Look, I'm kind of involved with someone right now." I told her with a sigh. She stared at me for a second before collapsing into laughter. I watched as she put her hand on her chest and tried to catch her breath. I rolled my eyes and opened my car door.

"This is a joke. Honestly though, what's the problem? Having trouble getting it up or something?"

I wrinkled my nose. "How old do you think I am? Like forty? No, I'm not having trouble getting it up. I'm just not interested. So bye." I watched Bella breeze out of the building next to Emmett who was talking her ear off. Lauren needed to fuck off and quickly.

"Edward!" I shook my head and slammed my door, starting up the car. She scurried in front of the car and I groaned.

I rolled down my window and leaned out of it. "Lauren! Come here." I beckoned with my finger and she crouched down next to me. "Listen, I don't have any interest in fucking you. Save yourself the embarrassment and leave me the fuck alone."

"I know you just like the chase, Edward." She whispered, reaching in and touching my chin, I yanked my head back and groaned.

"What is wrong with you? Stop."

"I always catch, Edward. You can't run for long."

"Why the hell are you so interested in someone who doesn't fucking want you?! Leave me alone, you crazy…" I pulled out of the parking spot and whipped around to get Em and Bella. Lauren flipped me ff in my rearview and I returned the favor before stopping to get Bella and Emmett.

"What's up, dickhead?" Emmett asked, stuffing his big ass into my passenger seat.

"Shut up." I groaned at him as I watched Bella slide into the backseat. She smiled at me and put on her seat belt.

"Hey," I said locking eyes with her in the mirror. Just her presence was making the corner of my mouth pull up.

"Hey." She chuckled.

"Hey!" Emmett said, being the asshole he was before flicking me in the ear. "If you two are done with your whole incestual flirting bit, I'd like to get home."

"Shut up." I repeated with a glare out of the corner of my eye. Bella laughed from the back seat and ruined my intimidating glare because I began smiling.

"Oh hey! Wait! I told Rose I'd take her home today. Hold on,"

"Woah, she is not getting in my car." I said shaking my head. It would be to awkward having all three of us in the car.

"And why the fuck not? Don't be an ass, man. She's going to be around a lot more, so you're going to have to deal with it."

"Yeah and when the time comes, I will. But she is not getting into my car. This is my baby, I want her nowhere near it." Or near Bella. Not only was she a whore but Rosalie was also a blatant bitch. She wasn't afraid to fuck you up verbally if she didn't like you. The last thing I wanted her to do was ruin my chances with Bella.

He turned to look over his shoulder and Bella leaned forward, so that her head was between ours.

"Edward, I'd like to meet Rosalie." I leaned around Bella to glare at Emmett.

"Fuck you." I growled, feeling my eye twitch. Bella reached under my chin and pulled me towards her, smacking a kiss on my cheek. I sighed and fought to keep my hands to myself as Emmett whooped and hollered at his victory.

"Be right back." He said loudly before jumping out of the car.

I pursed my lips and cut my eyes to Bella who smiled angelically at me. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side?" She scratched at the stubble on my jaw as her eyes flicked from my lips to my eyes.

"I am on your side." She whispered before biting her lip. I watched her take that plump lip between her teeth and almost came. My hand slid up her neck and into her hair. I pulled her forward and brought our lips together. Everything about her was sweet, her lips, her breath, her kisses. I hummed against her mouth and she leaned down and unbuckled my seat belt. With my new freedom I was able to turn and pull her closer. When we pulled away we were both panting.

"Will you come by again tonight?" She whispered, even though we were in the car alone.

"Of course." I pressed my lips to hers again. I looked out to see Emmett and Rose sauntering toward us from the school building. We had a little time.

"Good." She lifted a hand and wiped at my lips with her thumb. I kissed it and she beamed at me.

"That is of course, assuming I don't die by exposure to too much Rosalie." I grumbled and she shook her head.

"Be nice." She kissed my cheek again and sat back in her seat, buckling up. I did the same and looked out of the window to see Rose and Em paying us no attention. "How was your day?" She asked, staring at me in the mirror.

"Long." It seemed like days had passed since I last saw her. I missed her all through gym class, and ended up looking like a love struck puppy. When Johnson pointed this out he ended up leaving the class with the beginnings of a black eye. "And Bella-less, which sucked ass." She smiled and reached around the seat to touch my shoulder.

"Trust me I know the feeling." She said sympathetically with a wink that made me want to jump right into the backseat with her. The door next to her opened at the same time. A long leg slid into car, and to be honest, both of us stared. The rest of Rosalie's body gracefully folded into the seat next to Bella, who had her eyebrows raised in shock.

Don't get me wrong. I hate Rose. But she had to be one of the sexiest girls in school. Everything about her screamed "take me" and every boy wanted to.

"Ugh." I groaned already wishing this was over.

"Well hello to you too, Edward." She scoffed before turning to corrupt my girl. "You must be Bella!" Emmett had walked around to his side of the car and got in as well. When Rosalie leaned over and hugged Bella I think Em and I stared in utter shock.

"I'm Rose. It's nice to finally meet you." Dear goodness. I rolled my eyes and peeled out of the parking lot as fast as fucking possible.

"Nice to meet you too!" Bella greeted as they pulled away. "I've heard so much about you!"

"All good things, I hope."

"Not even fucking close." I hissed to myself as I watched my speed go from twenty to forty. Bella sighed and shook her head at me in the mirror.

Emmett rolled his eyes towards me and I lifted an eyebrow. "Dude, really?" I groaned and shut my mouth. For the rest of the ride I bitched mentally. I had restraint when I wanted to.

We finally pulled into the driveway and the four of us hauled it from the car. As soon as we were in the door we spread out across the house. I personally made sure I was just as far from Rosalie as possible. They went to the basement and Bella and I headed up to our rooms. Well after a doing my rounds around the house and making sure that the parents weren't home, we went to Bella's room.

I slipped in her door to see her sitting on her bed with books spread out around her. She looked up and pursed her lips at me as she capped her pen.

"What in the world, Edward?" She asked, watching as I climbed onto the bed next to her. I shrugged and lifted one of her books onto my lap so that I could move in closer. I rested my back against her headboard and she scowled at me.

"What?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Why are you so hard on Rose?" She asked, flicking her hair over her shoulder. I shrugged, not quite wanting to reopen that can of worms.

"I don't like her." I whined obnoxiously, scooting down and laying my head on her shoulder. She sighed and I took a quick glance down her shirt. She huffed and pushed my head away.

"You realize I can see you, right?" She huffed but when I looked up she was smirking. I gave a sexy smirk back and leaned up to kiss her. She turned her head so that I got her cheek. "I want to talk about Rose, not make out." Well, I didn't want to talk about Rose.

But I did want to make out.

"Let's do a little of both," I pulled myself up higher on the bed and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Edward, no." She pushed my shoulder and I nuzzled her neck. When she squirmed I tickled her waist. She gasped and pushed me away roughly, sending me tumbling off the bed. I grunted as I landed heavily on my ass bone. When I looked up she sat shaking and holding her hand in front of her. "I said, _no_!" She screeched. Her face was bright red as she stared at me wide eyed.

I moved back from a little more, not wanting her to flip out anymore. My eyes were as wide as saucers as I stared at her, our expressions identical. She gasped loudly and covered her mouth with her hands.

"I'm… So sorry." She whispered through her hands. I didn't even know what the fuck to do. Do _I_ apologize too? She did practically sumo wrestle me out of the bed… "Edward? I- I'm sorry, I panicked. Please don't be mad." She leaned over the edge of the bed.

She touched my shoulder and I shook my head. I may have gone into mild shock. I sure as shit was confused. How in the hell did she even manage that. Sure she was tall, but she didn't look strong enough to hurt a fly, much less push my ass off of the bed.

"Please don't be mad…" She whispered, sliding off of the bed to sit next to me. She cupped my cheek and peppered the opposite with kisses. "I'm so, so, sorry."

"Um…" I sighed, still confused. "Okay. I'm fine." She kissed the corner of my mouth. Her arms flung around my neck and I coughed.

"I'm sorry! We can make out now, if you want to?" She offered and I smirked, shaking my head. If this was gonna happen every time I tried to engage in activities I think it'd be safer for me to just stick with conversation.

"No, no, let's just-" My words were cut short as Bella's bedroom door slammed open and there stood Emmett with a short steak knife.

"What the fuck?"

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	12. Her Confusion

Thanks to: lovestuck93, dowlingnana, nelly1145, tuti, egarcia513, xxunowhoxx, kokoSweetHeart, dazzleglo, TwilightSy and sandy4321.

"What the heck?!" I gasped and scrambled out of Edward's lap, releasing my hold on him.

"Yeah, man. What the actual fuck?" Edward hollered back at his loud brother. I looked up at Em to see him holding a very small knife.

"Woah, why the knife, Emmett?" I asked loudly, taking the chance to scoot further away from Edward. Emmett still stood stock still in the doorway and Rosalie came up behind him, looking worried.

"What were you two even doing?" Emmett asked, waving the knife between Edward and me. I held up my hands and Edward scoffed.

"Not that it's your business but we were studying." Edward grumbled, collecting all of my scattered papers. I began to help him, mentally commending him for his quick cover up.

"Okay, smartass, explain how you ended up on the floor." Rose demanded and Emmett nodded before pointing to her.

"You're still here? Jesus..." Edward groaned reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. I frowned at him and he rolled his eyes. "If you must know, Bella got a little passionate about her Biology and ended up accidentally knocking me off of the bed." He shrugged before looking to me and I nodded.

"And how'd you end up in his lap?" Rosalie questioned, her gaze locked on me. Then her eyes turned icy and towards Edward. "Boy, you sure do move fast." She said lifting an accusatory eyebrow. I furrowed mine and looked over at the calmly composed Edward who stared right back at her.

What in the world could they have been talking about? Move on from what?

"Wow, Rosalie. You sure are one to talk huh?" My eyes darted between the two of them as they seemed to have a conversation with their eyes.

"What are you two talking about?" Emmett asked cautiously, as he looked to a guilty looking Rose.

"Nothing." Edward said to me with a shake of his head.

"Nothing! Just answer my question." She looked to me once more and I smiled, happy she took her eyes off of my boyfriend. I liked Rose, I really did, but she eyed Edward way too much for my comfort.

"I was just hugging him... I was apologizing... I did knock him off of the bed after all." I said softly.

"Bella, you wouldn't lie to me...?" Emmett pouted and I pouted back, with a shake of my head. "And you better not be lying or so help me god-" he pointed the knife at Edward.

"What are you going to do? Peel the living shit out of an apple?" Edward teased and I cracked a smile, while Em and Rose glared.

"Quick question; why were you even in here?!" Emmett asked Edward. I frowned as I looked between them. I didn't know exactly what was going on but it was easy to see that Em was interrogating him. But for what?

"Well it's my house and I'm pretty much welcome everywhere." I was surprised at his shockingly normal answer. "Which is more than I can say for some people." I sighed and stood.

"Is there actually a problem here?" I asked and Rosalie lifted an eyebrow. I didn't see what the big deal was.

"I don't know, are you okay?" Emmett asked me, I nodded and heard Edward huff.

"So I guess that means you guys can leave now." Edward said, folding his arms over his chest and leaning his back on my bed. Emmett nodded and Rosalie glared at Edward before they closed the door. Maybe I could see why he didn't like her...

When I heard their steps on the stairs I turned to Edward. "What's up with you and Rose?" I asked, jerking my chin towards the door.

He rolled his eyes and hoisted himself up onto my bed, stretching out across it. "Well, she's a raging-" I lifted an eyebrow and he sighed. "She's just not a good person." I gave him a withering look and sat on the end of the bed by his feet.

"What's she done to you?" I cocked my head to the side and he looked down at his hands.

"Uh," I lifted my eyebrows and he continued. "I just don't think that she's good for Emmett. I don't want her fucking around on him." He scowled at his hands, probably upset at having to admit that he actually kind of cared for Emmett.

"You care about him..." I cooed with a smile. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Well I'd be a pretty shitty person if I wanted him to get cheated on." He grumbled, picking up my Bio text book and flipping through the page.

"I think it's cute that you love your brother." I smiled and crawled up the bed until I was kneeling at his side.

"I don't love him and he's not my brother." I cocked my head to the side. "Fine, whatever. He's okay, I guess." I awe'd and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Ah..." He groaned and I kissed his cute little dimple.

"What makes you think Rose is going to cheat on Em? Is she known for cheating or something?" I asked, snuggling into his side as he lifted his arm. He sighed and rested his hand on my hip.

I looked up at him and he smirked. "A little something like that." His dimple deepened. There was a knock on the door and we both separated. He spun so that he sat at the opposite end of the bed and grabbed one of my books.

"Come in." I called to the door. Edward winked at me and patted my leg before looking to the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you again, Bella." Rose apologized cracking open my door. "But we need to talk, Edward." I looked to him and his eyes widened.

"Hell no." He said, with a shake of his head. Rose looked to me and Edward huffed.

"This is between you two..." I said holding up my hands. I did not want to get between them; I'd already pushed him to give her a ride. I didn't want him getting angry with me. The two of them have probably been feuding for years, it wasn't realistic to think I could make everyone like each other.

"It will take less than a minute." She said, pushing the door open a little more.

"I don't have any time, I'm studying for gov."

"We don't have another test for two weeks." She rolled her eyes and I realized that must be their thing. They couldn't talk to each other with out doing it.

"Well excuse me for being an over achiever."

"Don't be an ass!" My eyes bounced back and forth between them and I was starting to get a headache.

"I've heard that a lot. It hasn't stopped me yet." He shrugged and flipped open his book to a chapter we've already read.

"Guys... Either talk like normal people or one or both of you needs to leave." I sighed and Edward looked to Rose expectantly.

"Oh I'm not leaving without you." She sneered and I furrowed my eyebrows. If what Edward said about his not trusting Rose was true, then that didn't explain why she didn't like him. Minus the fact that he's kind of been a jerk to her.

"Jesus!" He groaned slamming the book shut and swinging his legs off of the end of the bed.

"It won't take long." She stepped aside and he sauntered out of the room behind her.

"What?" He asked as he stopped in front of her. I looked away, not wanting to intrude on their privacy.

"We need to talk about what happened last month." She said softly. "I don't want this coming between Emmett and me." Her words made my ears perk up and I titled my head a little hoping in vain that it'd help me hear better.

"So then we should keep it between us." He said quietly and she sighed before one of them grabbed my doorknob and pulled my door closed.

I frowned down at my school issued novel that I didn't quite care to read. Why wouldn't Edward tell me that something actually happened besides his suspicions. Did he see Rose cheating on Emmett?

That made me not like her as much, as well. Poor Emmett. He was so nice, especially to her. I hoped that one of them would tell him about her. It seemed like something he should know. I would have, to save his heartbreak. But then again he barely knew me and it wasn't my place.

My door swung open and my head whipped to it. Emmett stood scowling so hard that his dimples made their appearance.

"Where's Edward?" He asked, gritting his teeth.

"Uh, he and Rose were talking in the hall a second ago..." He pushed the door open farther and showed me the empty hall.

"Fuck!" He spun on his heel and left the room. I scrambled to get off of my bed and go after him.

"Edward and Rose are both adults, Emmett." I called after him as I tried to match his pace. He pushes open Edward's bedroom door to find it empty and then Rosalie's yelling came from outside.

How'd they even get out there so quickly?

"What is his fucking problem?!" Emmett growled, looking at me over his shoulder. I frowned at his assumption that Edward started this.

I touched his arm gently, "I think they have something that they need to work out, between the two of them." He rolled his eyes and I groaned, it wasn't just an Edward and Rose thing, everyone in this family did it.

"Obviously," He huffed, throwing up his hands and heading downstairs.

"I think it may be something that we shouldn't get involved with yet. If either of them needed you, they would have come to you by now, don't you think?"

"What I _know_ is that they'll kill each other if they aren't intercepted." He pulled open the front door and there stood Edward and Rosalie, both red in the face as they yelled back and forth.

"Well if you're so fucking high and mighty why don't you tell him?!" Edward yelled at Rose who froze before turning to us.

"What the fuck, Edward?!" Emmett started in on him and Edward turned his eyes to the sky and cursed. "Why are you always starting shit, man?! Rose hasn't done shit to you yet you're always up her ass!" He stepped down on the porch and Edward cut his eyes to his brother.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Emmett. Get out of my fucking face." He huffed as Emmett steadily approached him. Emmett's fists were clenched and he reached out and shoved Edward's shoulder. "Oh no. I'm not going to fight with you over your girlfriend." He snorted. "I'm not getting grounded because she's easy."

"Fuck you!" Rose yelled from the porch. She smirked as Emmett slammed a fist into Edward's gut. She almost looked proud of the fact that she just got Emmett to hit his brother.

What the hell?

"Emmett!" I hollered to them, as Edward blocked one of Emmett's punches and threw his brother to the ground.

"Just let them fight it out." Rose shrugged. "It's how boys work things out." I gasped and gave her a horrified look before stepping down onto the lawn. I knew I had no chance of physically stopping them but… Well I didn't know what I was going to do.

"No! What is your problem?!" I asked over the boys grunts and strained curses. I eyed the hose coiled up on the porch but figured that by the time I got it and the fancy spout to work they would have killed each other.

"Fucking damnit, Emmett!" Edward growled, landing a punch to Emmett's cheek. I gasped and Emmett kicked Edward off of him.

"If you weren't such a nosy bitch!" Emmett grunted as they went at each other. My heart rate sped up as I watched them kick the crap out of each other.

"Guys, stop!" I screamed as Emmett popped Edward in the mouth. I turned to Rose, "How do you get them to quit?!"

"I don't! Usually they tire out-" Her eyes snapped up at the sound of a car rolling down the street and the blue orbs widened. "Or… the parents come home…" Emmett seemed to notice that Carlisle was driving up, but Edward hadn't quite caught on.

"Fucking bastard!" He grumbled bringing his knee up and hitting Emmett in the stomach. Carlisle parked by the curb and jumped out of the car.

"Edward!" He growled before sliding his arms under Edwards and locking his hands behind his head. He pulled his son of off and deposited him in the grass to his side. Carlisle was red in the face and I finally understood why he was graying so early. "Again, boys?! What-" Both of the boys sat glaring at each other and Edward wiped blood off of his lip.

"Emmett, go to the kitchen. We need to talk. Edward, room. Now." Edward rolled his eyes and hauled himself to his feet. I gasped as Carlisle offered Emmett a hand and pulled him up.

"What?!" I gasped as Edward walked toward me. He just shook his head and closed his eyes before passing me. Why in the hell was he just taking it? He defended himself! How could his own father treat him like that? "Carlisle-"

"Bella, don't. It's not worth it." Rosalie hissed from behind me, standing from her place in the rocking chair. Carlisle looked up to us and palmed his forehead.

"Rosalie, I think it's time you go home." She nodded and he turned his attention to me. "I'm sorry, dear. Things won't always be like this." Emmett huffed and Carlisle patted his back.

**Leave me love and I will do my best to reply with a tease!**

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	13. Her Help

**Thanks to: dazzleglo, lovestuck93, cpettit, dramionelives, texbratt67, nightdreamz-n-panicattacks, 1234, egarcia513, dowlingnana, Marnieee tells all, TwilightSy, xxunowhoxx, jule2, and sandy4321.**

I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head, turning on my heel and heading into the house. I headed to the kitchen and stuffed some ice into a baggy. I also grabbed a bottle of water and a towel. With my items in hand I hurried up the steps.

Edward's door was shut and locked when I reached it. I knocked on his door and waited for an answer. When nothing came I knocked once more.

"What?" He asked quietly, his voice monotone. My heart broke for him. I could only imagine that's why he acted the way he did towards his dad.

"It's me, I brought ice…" I said softly. We'd gotten so far; I hoped that this wouldn't undo it all. He was silent for a minute and I had just begun to thing he would ignore me when the door unlocked. He opened is enough for me to get through and I sighed.

He shut the door and turned to me slowly. "You didn't have to…"

"I wanted to." I said softly as my eyes flicked across his face and then up his body. From what I could see his lip was busted and he'd have a pretty nasty bruise on his cheek in about an hour. "Oh my goodness." I whispered before heading into his bathroom. I grabbed a clean wash cloth and wet it with warm water before heading back to him.

"Sit." I said softly, pointing at his bed. He did so with no argument and I coaxed his legs apart so that I could stand between his knees. "Are you okay?" I asked dabbing at the blood under his lip. He rolled his eyes and shrugged. I pursed my lips and picked a blade of grass out of his hair. His hair in the back was covered with grass and when I pulled more and more out he held up a hand.

"Leave it, that's what I get for fighting on freshly cut grass." He smirked. "I'm gonna shower in a while, I'll get it out then." I nodded and gently dabbed the cloth against his bloodied lip.

"Ah, fuck." He hissed before pushing my hand away. My heart dropped.

"I'm sorry." I said softly, bunching up the wash cloth. I tossed the cloth into his clothes basket and he grabbed my waist, pulling me down to sit on his thigh. I sighed and kissed his cheek.

"Don't be sorry, you weren't the one to slug me in the mouth." He said with a humorless laugh at the end. I picked up the ice from where I'd set in on his bed and showed it to him before slowly pressing it to his cheek. He groaned and turned his eyes to me, his deep green ones piercing mine.

He seemed to be searching for answers but all I had was questions. Why'd Carlisle just jump on him like that? Why did he just accept it? What happened with Rose? Why didn't he tell me the truth?

"What?" He asked quietly, wrapping his arm around my waist and scooting us back farther on the bed.

"I'm sorry all of this happened, Edward." I whispered before running my fingers through his grassy hair.

"Like I said, it's not your fault."

"I kicked you out." He locked eyes with me for a second before chuckling.

"Trust me, it's not you who's the problem. I deserve what Emmett did-"

"Calling Rose that name wasn't good, but you didn't deserve to get hit!" I gasped. "Emmett should be the one in his room, not downstairs having coffee with your dad."

"He's not my dad." He shook his head and his eyes saddened. "And you better get used to it." He tapped my chin, referring to his being stuck in there. "Cause I'll probably be up here for another week or two. Probably two."

"That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair, Bella." He said with a shake of his head.

"Why do they do that to you?"

"I don't know… I've always been a troublemaker or whatever, so that's all they see me as. They don't think of Emmett as an instigator, and he was their first kid, so I guess they trust him more."

"I should tell him what happened-" I said, standing. He shook his head and took my hand, pulling me back down.

"_Nooo,"_ He stretched the word, "you shouldn't. That'll get you off on a bad foot. Trust me. Emmett's their baby, just let them have that."

"But you're getting screwed in the process."

"It's been like this for eight years, I'm used to it." He shrugged and I pouted. Eight years of being blamed for things he didn't start? "That and sometimes I am at fault so I can't play the golden boy card."

"Okay, but you shouldn't get in trouble for-"

"Bella, you can't change everything in a month."

"I'm not trying to change things; I just don't want you hurt."

"I'm not- well I'm not mentally or emotionally hurt or whatever… And anyway, Emmett hits like a bitch, so this doesn't even hurt that badly." He pointed to his lip.

"These are the things that break down relationships, Edward." And his relationship with Carlisle or Emmett didn't need to be broken down anymore.

"And how, pray-tell, would you know, Bella?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. I felt a pang in my chest as his green eyes bore into mine. My head pulled back and I frowned at him.

The one person that I had actually had something with… ever… was telling me that I had no one.

While somewhere in my heart I knew it was true, it hurt to hear. It especially hurt to hear it from him. He may not have remembered it, but back when we were kids he was my rock. The only person I'd ever felt connected to, adults included. Finding him again was like finding a missing part of myself. And now that one person who I'd finally found again was telling me I was pretty much alone.

Always have been.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I asked, standing from his lap. He closed his eyes and hung his head.

"Nothing, I'm sorry. Don't-" Tears sprung to my eyes as his words just repeated in my head. I dropped the ice bag in his lap and turned silently. "Bella, please-" I left the room and shut the door behind me before the tears fell. Carlisle was marching down the hall and stopped when he saw me.

"Bella? Dear, are you alright?" He muttered something like 'Jesus, Edward…' before taking my elbow. Edward's door opened behind me and I shrugged.

"I'm fine."

"Bella, wait-"

"I think you've done enough, Edward." Carlisle said, his tone cold. I winced as Edward huffed, but kept going to my room.

"Look, I know what you're going to say. Let me talk to Bella." He said to Carlisle, he let out an exasperated breath before pushing past his dad. He grabbed my hand as I reached for the door knob and I turned to look up at him.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely, his eyes shining with remorse. His hand twitched by his side, I felt it but he cast a look over his shoulder at Carlisle who watched us intently. He turned back to me and mouthed 'tonight.'

"Edward." Carlisle snapped. He waited for a reaction from me- an answer-and I nodded. He smiled a little and touched my shoulder before turning to face Carlisle. I sighed and entered my room, shutting my door behind me. Upon second thought, I wasn't ready to retire for the day. I yanked open my door and hurried down the steps.

Emmett sat in the large family room, relaxing back in a recliner and talking crap on a microphone as he frantically pressed buttons on an Xbox controller. He just sat playing whatever war game was new, laughing it up, while his brother was probably being chewed out.

"Emmett?" I asked, making my presence known as I walked in front of him. "Can I talk to you?"

"What, Bella?" He had another black eye, the same eye that it was on when I first met him. I wonder if Edward did that too. He didn't even spare me a glance as he spoke.

"Did you and Rose talk about what happened?" I asked wondering if he'd know anything about the secret that Rose and Edward were trying so hard to hide.

"No. Did you and lover boy?" He asked before switching his microphone back on and loudly cursing at the person on the other side.

"To some extent. And even though it seems to be the norm around here, I don't see how you could just let him take the fall for something you started." He casted an incredulous glance my way.

"Um, the way I see it he- Fuck you, man!" He screamed into the microphone as the screen began to turn red. I huffed and pressed the power button on the system. Emmett's eyes grew as wide as saucers and I shrugged.

"You were being rude."

"You started talking to me! I was doing this first!"

"Too late now." I shrugged.

"Whatever, I was saying that the way I see it; he started it. He said my girl was easy."

"He's worried about you." I said, perching on the arm rest of the couch next to him.

"He's jealous because I can keep a girl. And he can't_._" He said lifting an eyebrow at me. I ignored him and waved him off.

"There's something that _both_ of them aren't telling you-"

"I know that." He did?

"You do?" I asked lifting an eyebrow.

"Of course. They never liked each other, but they've never gone so hard at each other for no reason." He shrugged.

"So then why aren't you trying to talk to Rose about it? It's about both of them, I'm assuming."

"Because if she wanted me to know she would have told me. I'm not going to let this break apart my new relationship."

"Yet you're willing to mess up your relationship with Edward?"

"Jesus, Bella. Do you ever stop?" He groaned and pushed out of his chair. "This is my family; I'll deal with them as I please."

"Well you guys are my family now too. The only one I've ever had-"

"It's like that for all of us." He rolled his eyes.

"Edward's parents passed away, as did yours. You guys at least got to spend some time with them. My parents just didn't want me, Emmett. Neither did anyone else for seventeen years." I said, holding my hand to my chest. "So excuse me for not wanting my first family to fall apart during my first month here!" I tugged a hand through my hair and rested my hands on my hips with a defeated sigh.

These people had no clue how good they had it. Yet they chose to mistreat each other and ignore each other constantly. I didn't understand it, especially for two kids that were adopted. Like I said, both of them had different situations, but spent less time in the system than I did. But any time in the system should be enough to make them appreciate having someone wake you up in the morning with a smile, or a hug or even just a simple I love you.

He frowned down at his hands. "I'm sorry." He mumbled before looking up at me with pity. I sighed, I didn't need pity. I've had pity for years. I needed change.

"Sure." I huffed before spinning on my heel and heading for the steps. Speaking to any of them while I was upset wouldn't result in anything good.

"What do you want me to do?" He sighed, following behind me.

"I want you to tell Carlisle the truth. I know it sucks, but it's the best thing for you and Edward. I guarantee you Edward will appreciate it. Maybe enough to stop talking about Rose-"

"Or enough to tell me what happened?" I nodded and he did too, sticking his hands in his pocket.

"Maybe." I wasn't quite sure how Edward would react at this point, but I assumed it wouldn't be anything but good. Emmett sighed before holding open his arms. I furrowed my eyebrows and he came to me, hugging me tightly.

"I really am sorry, Bella. I'll talk to him tomorrow." I smiled and hugged him back, patting his back.

**So…? **

**Twenty reviews and I'll update before Sunday!**

**I'm going to tease :D**


	14. My First Apology

**Thank you to: egarcia513, nightdreamz-n-panicattacks, nelly1145, 1234, TwilightSy, Caitie126, tuti, dazzleglo, xxunowhoxx, beccaavivianrose, jule2, sandy4321,****EllenHunterr, janshanr, The Asinine Poet, dowlingnana and theamazingtracy for reviewing!**

Bella probably hated me.

I wouldn't blame her. I've said a lot of shitty things but the definitely took the cake. I didn't mean anything by it at first... Strictly referring to my relationship with Carlisle. But upon reflection, I could see why she was hurt. And it was my fucking fault.

I'd made my sweet Bella cry.

There she was, doing nothing but being her usual sweet self. Taking care of me, being there for me when I needed her, not that I'd admit that out loud. She'd only come up to help and check on me and I'd sent her away in tears.

I silently shut her door behind me and frowned as her small frame didn't move under the covers.

I tugged a hand through my hair and went to her bed. I sat on the edge of the bed and brushed the wayward strands of hair out of her gorgeous face. I leaned over and kissed her forehead, wanting her to know how truly sorry I was.

"God... I'm so fucking sorry." I whispered, my words sounding like a chainsaw ripping through the bedroom. She sighed and pulled back her comforter, "I didn't mean to hurt you." I said to her, turning and lying so that I faced her. I saw her eyes flicker behind her eyelids and pulled the blankets up to cover us. Her eyes opened and they were windows to her pain.

The pain I caused.

"Please, don't hate me." I whispered, my heart pounding away in my chest as I searched her eyes. She bit her lip and sighed as she turned on to her back.

"Bella?" I really didn't have a fucking clue as to where I was supposed to go from there. I didn't apologize. Ever. But when I'd seen it done, the second party usually says something at that point. She just laid silently, staring up at the ceiling.

"Please say something?" Begging, another first.

"I don't hate you." She whispered before shutting her eyes. I lifted an eyebrow and stared at her.

"You don't?" She shook her head but the frown on her lips didn't disappear like I'd hoped.

"No, it would take a lot for me to hate you. On the other hand, I'm not happy with you." She said, cracking an eye open and peeking over at me. "That was harsh, even for you." Now I was a little put out. I haven't been anything but nice to Bella, before that little mishap earlier. But I guess I could see her point, if I liked it or not.

"And I'm sorry, I didn't mean… whatever you think I meant. I was only talking about Carlisle and my situation…" This time she rewarded me by fully turning her head to meet my eye.

"You were?"

"Yes. And I'm so fucking sorry that I hurt your feelings." I whispered again searching her eyes for the forgiveness that I so desperately needed. She shook her head with a sighed and reached up to touch my chin.

"How's your lip?" She asked and I wrapped my hand around hers and pulled her smaller one down, holding it to my chest.

"It's fine-" It hurt like a bitch but that isn't something I'd be telling her about. "But I don't want to talk about myself." I said. Her reaction to what I said seemed a little extreme earlier. I felt like shit for causing it, but I was still a little in the dark about what it was all about.

"Oh… no. I'd rather not-" She said shaking her hand in front of her.

"Please? I just want to know more about my girl." I said sticking out my bottom lip like a pussy. She frowned and turned back onto her back.

"You know more about me than most people." She said with a heavy sigh.

"But I want to know everything about you."

"Like what, Edward?" I shrugged even though I knew exactly what I wanted to ask.

"Like tell me about your past relationships." I suggested.

"I haven't had any past relationships." She pursed her lips and I knew that she was still pissed. "I was born alone, grew up alone and now I'm here." My eyes widened at her dark words. As long as I've known her Bella has been nothing but cheery, save for her little episode in the parking lot. So hearing her say something that depressing was a little shocking.

"What about you?" She asked casually.

"Wait, wait." She turned to look at me, her eyes empty. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what? I just answered your question."

"All dark and shit… You're just going to move on without explanation?"

"I was going to, yes." She said shortly

"Okay well answer me this. What happened to your parents?" She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

"Good question." She shrugged.

"I don't understand..."

"My parents gave me up, Edward. I never knew them, or loved them... They kept me for about a month and decided they didn't want me so they dumped me at some restaurant." Her voice was so emotionless, like she told the horrible story more than once. She stopped talking and let out a shaky breath. I reached up and took her hand, bringing it to my lips.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "Fuck I'm so sorry." She deserved so much better. My Bella has been through so fucking much, she was stronger than I could ever hope to be. I tugged her hand gently around my waist, pulling her into my arms.

She tucked her warm forehead into my neck and I rubbed her back. "That's how I got my last name, that restaurant." She chuckled, but the sound was empty, lifeless. "It was called The Yellow Swan. It's so ridiculous I just..." She shook her head and moved in closer to me. I adjusted to accommodate my girl and she sighed.

"What about a birth certificate?" I asked, she had to have something.

"I wasn't born in a hospital."

"So when is your birthday?" It's something I should have asked about and known a long time ago but, better late than never, I guess.

"September thirteenth."

"And you know that without a birth certificate?" I asked, tucking the comforter around us.

"I was found on October thirteenth." She moved the blanket off of us and slipped out of the bed, disappearing over the edge. There was a quiet scraping and then she slammed a small chest on to the bed. "I was said to have been a month old, so there you go, that's how I came to be Bella of the Yellow Swan." She smirked but it was bitter.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "There must be some record of a hospital visit…"

"My mother didn't get to a hospital or there would have definitely been records." She opened the chest and handed me a paper that had been laminated. There was messy handwriting that must have been smudged and messy when it was preserved.

"'_Her name is Isabella Marie. Tell her I am sorry._'" Bella read the almost illegible writing. She pulled a small square knitted blanket and set it in her lap, her fingers stroking the cotton. "These were the only two things with me that day. Classic case of baby left on doorstep." She gave that dull laugh again and I frowned at the letter.

"Bella?" She looked up at me and her eyes were tortured. She looked so lost…

"'_Tell her I am sorry_.'" She snorted bitterly, "It's not like she cared anyway." I turned the paper over in my hands and bit the inside of my cheek.

"I think your mother loved you." I said quietly. If her mother truly didn't care, Bella wouldn't have had this letter, or hell, a first name for that matter. There was a chance that her mother was going through something that she didn't want to drag Bella into… But of course, Bella, being the baby on the doorstep, didn't see it that way. I wouldn't have either if I were her.

"Excuse me?" She looked at me as if I told her I killed her puppy. The frayed little blanket in her hands twisted and turned in her nervous hands and I frowned.

"Your mom may have just wanted the best for you?"

"But she couldn't take me to a hospital?" She asked bitterly and snatched the letter from me. She threw them into the box before locking it and biting her lip.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice sounding broken. She bent and slid the box under her bed before crawling onto the bed and towards me. "I'm so sorry… I just- this is hard for me… And another first. People have always tried to explain what happened to me, but I've never had to _tell_ anyone myself. I'm sorry for being so horrible-" I leaned up on my forearms, lifting myself enough to be face to face with her.

She buried her face into the material of my shirt, her tiny fingers grasping it tightly. I lowered us back down to the bed before wrapping my arms around her. "It's okay, baby."

"No, I was being mean... I'm so sorry." She continued to apologize before lifting up and cupping my cheek. "It's hard to talk about that because it's like, my entire life could have been changed forever if she hadn't just left me there."

"What if she was a junkie? It's probably a good thing you weren't subjected to that." Foster homes sucked dick, but they were better than alleyway and where ever the fuck junkies lived.

"They hadn't found any drugs in my system, or any history. It's just hard to look at the bright side when it's so dark." She whispered before tilting her head up to meet my eyes. "Things are good now though."

"They are. I have you now."

"And I you." She gave me a strained version of that beautiful smile. I kissed her forehead and she cupped my cheek before pulling me down again to kiss her lips. "I guess that's why I overreacted to what you said, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was my fault; I shouldn't have said that shit. But know that you have me. Always." She nodded into my chest. The rise and fall of her chest on mine lulled me to sleep but right before I went under I heard her whisper.

"Always."

And just like that I was back at the foster home, sitting with my old friend in her yellow sundress. She had her back against the wall, her hair once again in a messy ponytail.

_"What happened to your Mommy and Daddy?" She asked softly, running her fingers through my hair as I laid in her lap. It felt so good, she was the only one that did that, besides my mom. I picked at the grass by her leg and she sighed. _

_"They died. A car hit them." I whispered, turning my body over so I could look at her pretty face. She frowned and her dark eyes had tears in them. "Don't cry..." I whimpered, covering my eyes before tears came. I wanted to show her how strong I was. She was always strong for me, even when she cried. But I was a boy, and boys don't cry._

_"I'm sorry." She said quietly and I sat up and hugged her. It was okay for me to hug her, she wasn't like other girls. She was more important. I couldn't talk to other girls the way I talked to her. And I sure wouldn't touch them. They were pretty much just gross crybabies. But not her. She was like me. _

_I didn't know what I would do without her. She was the bestest friend I could ever ask for. _

_And she was pretty, so that helped. _

_"I love you." I said quietly, not really wanting her to hear it, but wanting her to at the same time. I had only said that to two other people ever, my mom and dad, only the important people. I didn't know how other people meant it, but I knew that I loved her. The words were meant for her. _

_"I love you too, Eddie." She smiled, hugging me tighter. _

Tell me what you think?

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	15. My Ungrounding

**Thanks to: xxunowhoxx, sandy4321, janshanr, NeviaAnn, dowlingnana, 1234, Star Dust and Fairies, Scarlett Rose Monroe, TwilightSy, tuti, 4Eva, egarcia513, nelly1145, dazzleglo, and beccaavivianrose.**

"Are you sure you'll be okay with this?" I asked Bella as we pulled up to school.

"Yes, Edward." She sighed, reaching over the compartment and resting a hand on my thigh. I knew I was getting on her nerves with my excessive questioning, but I didn't want her doing anything that'd make her uncomfortable.

I sighed and nodded reluctantly. She had a class next to one of James' and I about shit myself every time I drop her off. When I went to the office to see about changing her schedule I was informed that they weren't making changes, and I couldn't change anyone else's schedule.

Bullshit.

But when Bella found out what I was up to, she was less than happy.

"It doesn't bother you that he's right next door?" I asked, lifting my eyebrows. If she would have let me put his punk ass in the hospital we wouldn't be having this problem.

"Not always."

"When you have Calc." I clarified with a roll of my eyes.

"Not really," she lied, her eyes darted up and to the left. When I let out an exasperated huff she moved her hand up to my arm. "Okay, it bothers me. But at the same time, I know he can't do anything from a room away, and I always know that my big, strong boyfriend is coming for me after the bell." She smiled, squeezing my bicep which I flexed just for her.

I smirked, letting her inflate my ego. "Damn straight." I turned to her and furrowed my eyebrows. "But, Bella, if he fucks with you you need to tell me. No more keeping shit to yourself." She nodded.

"I will, come here." She grabbed my collar and pulled me in to meet her soft lips. "You're so cute when you get all worried." She whispered against my mouth. I nipped at her bottom lip and she giggled. "Now stop worrying and come on before we're late." She said tapping my thigh before throwing her door open and jumping out of the car.

I shook my head and when my door opened the warning bell, the one telling us we had five minutes to get to class, rang. I grabbed my backpack and met Bella at the front of the car.

"Oh crap, can we go home at lunch?" She asked as we reached the side walk.

"Sure, why?" I asked.

"I forgot to make Emmett soup..." I furrowed my eyebrows. Emmett was like dying or some shit. At first I assumed he'd just had a hangover, but when he finished puking, we discovered he had a fever too.

"Emmett's a big boy. He can make himself lunch, Bella." I sighed. She rolled her eyes up at me and shook her head.

"He could barely sit up this morning, Edward." If you ask me I thought he was hamming it up. He didn't even look that sick, he just liked having my girlfriend play nurse to him. I fell a step behind Bella during my inward bitching and when I got a glimpse of her ass I wished she'd be my nurse too. Hell, I could get her an outfit and everything. But she'd be my personal nurse.

Emmett could schedule a visit from Dr. Herpes. He had his own girl after all. I don't see why she couldn't make him better.

My fingers itched to pull Bella into my arms as we walked across the yard. "He'll be okay."

"Wouldn't you want help if you were sick?" She asked, looping her arm through mine and smiling up at me.

"I don't get sick." I said haughtily. She hip checked me and I sighed. "Yeah, but only from you." I winked at her and she squeezed my arm before breaking away from me to head to class.

Jazz came out of no fucking where and bumped my shoulder. "Where have you been?"

"Around..." I mumbled, bumping him back as we entered our Government class. Mrs. Dickson gave us both wide eyed glances as we entered before the bell rang.

"Well, Mr. Cullen, nice to see you on time." I bit my tongue to keep from telling her that she shouldn't get used to it. Jazz snorted next to me as I just nodded and slid into my seat. She started in on her newest boring as shit lesson and Jazz tapped my arm. When I looked over he'd tossed a note on my desk.

_Are you coming out with Angela and me later?_

I sucked at my teeth for a moment. I'd already told Bella that we could do something together tonight. We were going to start in on our college admission letters, both of us had gotten quite a few. Now it was just a matter of sorting through letters and financial aid offers. But I hadn't done anything with Jazz since she got here. I was being a pretty shitty friend to Ange and him.

And I had recently been released from the prison of my bedroom. Apparently Emmett had set dad straight and he'd come earlier to notify me. And surprisingly enough, he'd actually apologized to me. That shit almost knocked me out of my chair.

_**Wouldn't miss it. **_

I passed the note and tried to remember what he wanted to do in the first place. After pulling out my phone and scrolling through my messages, trying to see if we'd discussed it over text.

We were apparently going to see some girl band perform at a teen night club in Seattle, the band was called Breaking Dawn. And that in itself was just as weird as Jazz wanting to hear a girls pop band.

_**What's so great about these chicks anyway?**_I asked when he didn't send any note back.

_I dunno, I'm just trying to widen my horizons._

I rolled my eyes at the words. I scribbled a note down quickly, watching him blush from the corner of my eye.

_**Alice Brandon?**_

Alice was like Angela as Jazz was to Ben. He was fucking obsessed with the tiny chick and looked for any reason to get together. Alice went to some inner city school so we didn't see her much, but whenever she and Jazz met up it was crazy.

Excuse me for sounding like a pussy, but they were kind of electric, whatever they had. They had great energy that could be felt from a few feet away.

_Yeah._

I smirked at the paper and he shook his head. I wrote out the word 'cute' before staring down at it in horror. What the hell did I just do? I crossed the word out, quickly.

Too late. Jazz stared at the paper, eyebrows furrowed.

"Dude..."

"Mr. Whitlock, Mr. Cullen, is there something you all wanted to share with the class?" Jasper shook his head and I rolled my eyes at Ms. Dickson's poor attempt at being intimidating. She stared at us for a long awkward moment before turning back to her board. Jasper sighed and stared down at his paper and I leaned back in my seat and shut my eyes.

Next thing I knew the bell was ringing and Jazz was slapping my shoulder. He waved before heading out and I jumped up to follow him before Dickson caught me.

My next class was Biology, with Bella. When I walked in she sat at our table scribbling. I smiled and slid onto the stool next to hers.

"Hello, gorgeous." I greeted quietly, turning to look at her. She blushed and waved me off.

"Hey. I met Angela last bell." My eyes widened and she chuckled.

"How'd that go?"

"Pretty well, she introduced me to your friend Lauren." I almost choked on my tongue when she said that. Why the fuck would Ange do that?

"Ange talks to Lauren?" I knew the answer to that was a no, which meant Ange went out of her way to fuck me over. Bella shrugged and nodded, none the wiser.

"She said she really thought I should meet her. Lauren was kinda off putting though, so I left her alone." The relief I felt was minimal.

"What the fuck, Angela?" I hissed to myself.

"She told me to tell you 'thanks for talking to Ben.'" My mouth dropped open in shock and she furrowed her eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" She asked putting her hand over mine. I looked over my shoulder at the table to our right. Ben sat with some other loser at the neighboring table.

"Hey!" I snapped and Bella tugged on my hand.

"Is that Ben?" I nodded and turned back to Ben.

"You were supposed to be asking Angela to prom-"

"I'm going to-"

"Make it quick, or she's gonna keep fucking with me." He nodded and ducked his head. Satisfied I turned back to Bella.

"So how'd your meeting Lauren go?" I asked, trying to play it cool.

"I said she was off putting-" She said furrowing her eyebrows.

"But did she say anything that made you not like her?" I asked, needing to know the extent of the conversation.

"Just 'hi'... Why?" I shrugged but she wasn't settling for that. "Edward?"

"We aren't really friends with Lauren." I said, she hummed and smirked.

"Ex girlfriend?" She asked and the bell rang so Mr. Banner called us to attention. He informed us of the lab we'd be doing and after picking up the tray of supplies. Well it was really just a aluminum foil ball and two tweezers.

"You'll be breaking apart an owl pellet." Banner said as I set down the tray. He handed Bella a laminated mat with pictures and she stared down at it in horror. "And we'll be identifying the different bones of the mice it ate."

Banner laughed as the majority of the girls in the class voiced their concerns and disgust. "Alright, class. Dig in when you're ready!" He clapped his hands before heading to the table of girls that were squealing in the front.

I began to unwrap the pellet and Bella touched my arm. "I'm gonna let you do that and I can identify or whatever..." She said softly. I turned to her to see her looking sallow.

"Are you going to be okay?" She pursed her lips and swallowed hard before nodding.

"Yeah... I think, but just a little warning, I'm a fainter." She smiled but she was serious.

"If it's going to make you sick-" I grabbed my keys and held them out to her.

"I'm gonna tough it out." She smiled, pushing the keys back to me. "I'm not ditching you."

"That's great and all bit I don't want you cracking open your head over a pile of owl shit."

"They regurgitate it, Edward." Banner said patting me on the shoulder and walking between Bella and me. Which was awkward because we were relatively close. "Is there a problem, Ms. Cullen? Can I help with anything?" I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked over at Bella. Why didn't I know that that was her last name? I mean, I guess some part of me knew it could happen because we'd all adopted the Cullen name. I just wasn't expecting her to, since she'd come so late.

"Uh, no. I'll be fine. Thanks, Mr. Banner." She smiled at him and he nodded before patting her back and moving on.

"So moving on... She was a girlfriend?" Bella asked wiggling her eyebrows at me. I'm not going to lie; it was weird as fuck talking to her about Lauren. I was more than uncomfortable.

"Not exactly. I didn't do girlfriends... You know, before you." She smiled, eliciting my own smirk.

"So what was she?"

"Nothing, really." I said. I wouldn't even say that Lauren and I had been fuck buddy's or friends with benefits, because I didn't quite like her as a person. She had a great body and loved sex though, so those were the only two things we had in common.

"Mhm. Okay. Don't tell me." She rolled her eyes and I unwrapped the ball completely, scowling at the dust. Maybe if I started pulling apart rat bones she'd stop talking about Lauren.

"I'm telling the truth..." I muttered, glancing over at the mat in front of her. Apparently there would be more than just mice in this thing, maybe even a bird or two.

"How the fuck is this going to help me in the future?" I grumbled, making Bella chuckle. The thing of shit was kind of hard and dry and took a little prodding to get it apart. When it broke a cloud of dust dispersed into the air making both Bella and I cough.

"That's fucking disgusting!" She gasped, waving the dry dust away from her. I lifted an eyebrow in her direction a little shocked at her use of the f-bomb. She shrugged before sneezing. I continued breaking the shit apart and we found a couple of leg bones and a claw from a bird. Bella grimaced at those items but when we found a skull with a beak attached I thought she was going to pass out. Her fingers gripped the table tightly and she met my eyes shaking her head.

"I'm sorry... I can't. You stay." She swiped my keys from my pocket and headed straight toward Banner and out of the room after that. He lifted an eyebrow my way and I shrugged before jumping back in at her request.

After finishing up the paper for both me and Bella. I answered the rest of the bullshit questions and turned it in, happy to be done. Banner caught my arm as I was on my way out of the door and I groaned.

"How're things with Ms. Cullen so far?" He asked furrowing his eyebrows.

"Things are fine."

"Must be kind of weird having another girl around the house huh?" He smiled good naturedly and I did to, even though I was really anxious to get out to see Bella.

"Nah, Bella's great it's cool having her around." A movement over his shoulder caught my eye and I squinted to see it. A tall figure pulled away from the door as I looked up and I caught sight of a ponytail. A blonde ponytail.

What the fuck?

"Hey, Mr. Banner, do you have a student names James Hunter in any of your bells?" Banner out his hands on his hips and bit his lip, turning his slightly too large nose to the ceiling.

"Well, I hope not because I can't think of anyone. Let me check my roster." He said shaking a finger at me as he went to his computer. He scrolled through names and shook his head. "Nope. Why?"

"No specific reason." I said before leaving the room with no further explanation.

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	16. My Lies

I rushed through the hallway, the same direction I saw that pussy ass ponytail go. I headed to the end of the hall, which also happened to be the end of the school. I furrowed my eyebrows as I watched Hunter walked through the parking lot, taking long looks at cars as he passed. He reached my car and stopped, this time bending down to look into it.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight as he shook his head and circled around my car. It was like he was looking for something. Or someone.

Bella.

She'd left early from class to go to the car. But how in the fuck would he have known? I hadn't ever seen him in this area of the school during the first part of the day. But only people in our class would have even known she was leaving. My hands began to sweat as I watched James give up.

Where _did_ she go?

Hunter stepped away from the car before doing a double take at the trunk. A slimy smile stretched across his ugly ass face and he took a glance around the parking lot before trying the handle to the trunk.

I stepped forward to leave the building and fuck him up, when I felt a hand on my back. "Motherfuck." I hissed before reluctantly turning to face Lauren who-

Wasn't Lauren.

My eyebrows shot up as I looked down at Bella. "Expecting someone else?" She asked before chuckling a little.

"Uh, no." I lied, just happy that I didn't have to deal with Lauren today.

"Hmm," She looked out into the gloomy day and her eyes narrowed as she watched Hunter wander. "What were you…?"

"I'm getting a bad feeling about that fucking creep." I said before casting a wary look around the hall and taking another peek outside. Hunter was still by my car, but he'd moved on to some other kids Jeep.

"Edward, just leave it alone." Bella's words caught my attention, I turned to her.

"It worries me that he's so close… All of the time."

"You don't know that he is." She shook her head and it finally clicked that she was standing in front of me. Which meant she never went to the car.

I pulled her into my arms tightly, she gasped at the abruptness. "What are you doing?" She asked, her voice muffled by my shoulder. I kissed her cheek, not giving a fuck about who was watching. I let go once I realized that her binders were kind of stabbing us both in the ribs.

"You're here." I said backing away and holding her shoulders.

"Yes…" She lifted an eyebrow.

"So why weren't you out there? In the car?"

"I needed to stop by the bathroom. I thought that I was going to be sick for a second." I furrowed my eyebrows. If he was watching her enough to know that she would be heading to the car, wouldn't he have known that she didn't end up going to the bathroom?

"What bathroom did you go to?"

"Edward-"

"Just answer my question." There were two bathrooms, one in a tiny hallway that was a pathway between two hallways. The other bathroom was at the very end of the hall we stood in, completely out of the way.

"I went to that one-" She turned to point over her shoulder at the small hallway. If he had been following her he probably thought she would have taken a different path to the parking lot and her going into the bathroom would have thrown him off.

"Thank goodness for small bladders." I sighed.

"Let's start going to Psych." She said, nodding her head behind her. She pulled out her phone and took a quick glance at it before shaking her head. "Oh! No, never mind. You get to class."

I gave her a withering look, there was no way she was serious. "I'm walking with you," I turned to see the hallway empty save for a few fuckers staring. One of which was just the person I was hoping to avoid. She gave me a meaningful and slow eyebrow lift as Bella and I passed. A meaningful, slow and unacknowledged eyebrow lift.

Fucking Lauren.

"Edward, you know if you're late they will call Carlisle." I lifted an eyebrow and patted my chest, reminding her of the car phone. That thing was probably the best idea Emmett had ever had. And it saved my ass twice as much as it saved his. "Stop, I don't want you compromising your education."

"You aren't-"

"Go!" She stopped and pushed my chest lightly.

"I'll go if you kiss me." I said seriously, leveling the glare she gave me. The hallway wasn't full, but it had enough stragglers to watch and be horrified as the new siblings kissed. That was one thing she wasn't lenient about. I understood it, but I also knew that people knew she was newly adopted…

Whatever.

"Damn it, Edward." She stomped off and I continued right after her in silence. "Do you really think I'd get kidnapped on the walk to Psychology? Where would he, or she, take me?" She asked lifting an eyebrow.

I pursed my lips. Bella felt comfortable at school and I just didn't know how to go about this. The last thing I wanted was for her to be afraid for the next few months. But she didn't quite seem to grasp the enormity of the situation.

If this creep wanted to hurt her again, or hell, contact her again then I would end up going to jail.

"For my sanity-" I said, playing on her selfless side. "Let me walk you to class. It'll bring me peace." I patted my chest and nodded earnestly. She sighed and headed toward the courtyard. It was an open garden area with the building surrounding it on each side. I scanned the courtyard before opening the door for her and sticking by her side. Once we were inside of the door again she turned to me.

"I'm fine now, go to class." She glanced around the empty halls before leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss me. I smiled against her lips and she pulled away. "Thank you."

"I just walked you to class, no thanks necessary."

"But you cared, about me and watched out for me, and for that I lo-" she cleared her throat and I lifted an eyebrow.

"That's why I thank you." She blushed profusely before squeezing my arm and heading into class. I begrudgingly dragged myself to Calc and took my usual seat between Jazz and Lauren.

Mr. Johnson handed out a work sheet on whatever shit we learned the day before. I finished it in like five minutes and sat back in my seat. I felt eyes bore into the side of my head and turned to see Lauren staring.

She smiled at me, a gesture that went unreciprocated. I looked away and huffed. Jazz paid me no attention and I was glad, I had a lot of shit on my mind.

Was Bella going to be safe in school? Was she going to be alright at school functions or anything else? Why the fuck is James still up her ass? Why the fuck won't Bella let me kick his face in, I'll never know.

"Edward?" Lauren's words pulled me out of my thoughts. I hummed to let her know I was listening. "You'll have to excuse my behavior because I wasn't reacting well... I made a bad cocktail." She rolled her eyes and leaned in my, adjusting her arm to show the most amount of cleavage she couldn't.

I'm a teenaged guy, so it's in my nature to look. I'm also a taken man, so I was able to look away. I'm also a sex deprived human being, so when she rubbed her hand over my dick, I almost had a conniption.

"What the hell, Lauren!?" I hissed, ashamed that my body began to respond on its own accord. "Look." I grabbed her hand and made a show of placing it as far as possible, for her benefit. "I told you. I'm in a relationship." She nodded and I was taken back at her lack of respect for relationships. I knew that they weren't something she was participated in but holy fuck.

"Edward. She's changing you." That hand made it back to my thigh and Jasper snorted next to me.

"Change isn't always a bad thing." I said with a small smile. Then my smile dropped. "Now get your hand off of me. And for the love of god, don't touch my dick again." She huffed and snatched it away. I turned to Jasper who just shook his head.

"Who is this oh so important girl anyway?" Lauren asked staring down at her nails.

"Don't worry about it." I spat.

"Well I wasn't going to at first, then you got a stick up your ass. So I want to know who it is."

"I don't care." I shrugged. What the fuck was she going to do? She couldn't continue touching me, and she couldn't harass Bella. She was stuck.

"You're such an asshole." She huffed and I sighed. "You don't even have the decency to tell me who it is? I thought we kind of had something."

I frowned and turned to her. As long as I've known Lauren I'd only seen her acting playful. But she looked genuinely hurt and it made me kind of feel bad. "Lauren, I'm sorry but-" fuck how do you let someone down easy? Jasper's head lifted and he stared at me with wide eyes. "I really can't do this with you anymore. I didn't realize that you had feelings... For me." If I knew that she was going off the deep end for me I wouldn't have continued with her. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Her blue eyes shone with tears and I winced.

Fucking hell, twice in one month.

"Whatever, Edward." She pushed her chair back and left the room, wiping her eyes. What was it with girls leaving today?

"Man, I think you better go after her." Jasper said nudging me with his elbow.

"I can't." I sighed. I apologized and I didn't want Lauren to get the wrong idea again. Jazz shook his head and stood as the bell rang. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out to see that Bella texted me telling me not to come for her. I headed to Spanish and endured the blatant stupidity of my illiterate ass classmates for a long bell before it was finally lunch. As seniors we got an hour and a half for lunch and could leave campus. I met her at her locker and we decided to head back to the house.

"Emmett didn't text me back." Bella turned her phone over in her hand and bit her lip as we got to the car.

"He's probably just sleeping," I looked up to see James staring at us from across the parking lot as he headed to his car.

"Edward." I pushed away from the car and went towards the fucking punk, my anger building the closer I got. "Edward!" Bella called from behind me. I didn't stop though because she wasn't going to stop me. She couldn't get too close to the guy anyway.

I knocked on James' window with a knuckle, making the pane shake. "What the fuck is your problem?" I asked when he rolled it down a crack. His eyes were wide and he almost looked as innocent as Ben Cheney, but inside I knew there was a fucking monster lurking.

He opened his mouth and I held up a hand before I was sentenced to an encounter with his breath. "Listen, I don't fucking care, to be honest. But you need to stay the fuck away from my-" Girlfriend- sister… uh… "from Bella. If I see you creeping on her anymore I am going to kick your ass up and down these halls."

"That's a threat- you can't do that." He spastically shook his head.

"Well we both know why I'm threatening you. If that happened to get out, you'd be in a hell of a lot more trouble, you understand that right?"

"Look, I just thought she looked familiar- I just want to know from where-"

"Take it from me; it doesn't fucking matter. You leave her alone and I'll try my hardest not to kick your ass for the time being- even though we both know you so badly need it." I nodded for conformation that he heard and when he nodded back, I pushed away from the car. "Don't make me have to talk to you anymore, because I assure you; next time there will be no talking." I headed back to my car where Bella sat nibbling on her lip with the doors locked.

I used the key fob to unlock the doors again and she jumped as I got in. "It's just me." Her wide eyes fluttered shut and she leaned her head against the back of her seat.

"Why-"

"Because I'm tired of knowing that you're dealing with this ass every day."

"Edward- I don't- I barely see him at all during the day… He doesn't even really pay me any attention." She shrugged and I lifted an eyebrow.

Either she was lying, or she was too oblivious to notice his stalking.

Both were problems.

"Really?" She nodded, her eyebrows knitted as she looked at me. She was oblivious.

But I didn't want her to worry.

I tugged a hand through my hair before nodding and grabbing her hand, interlocking our fingers as I started the car.

"Edward, why would I have seen him? I know we have a class close to each other, but…"

"I just thought it was the class thing." I lied again. I seemed to being doing that a lot today. She nodded though, clearly believing me as she began flipping through radio stations.

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	17. My Ever Returning Past

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"I picked up your homework; you'll still have an extra day to do it." Bella handed placed a textbook and a few papers on Emmett's desk. "How do you feel?" I take it back; Emmett really did look like shit. He was pale and just extremely gross looking. Bella was a warrior for getting up close to that. I stayed my ass in the doorway; he wasn't going to get me sick.

"Like sh-crap." He moaned weakly, attempting to sit up. He began falling back and Bella jumped to help him.

"Edward?" She gasped and I went to the other side of Emmett's bed lowering him to the mattress. I cringed as he coughed into my face.

"Ah, damn it." Once he was down I wiped my cheek off and Bella wrinkled her nose.

"Sorry, man." Emmett groaned, lifting an arm slowly and covering his mouth.

"It's okay. What can we get you?" I asked. Emmett's eyes popped open and he gaped at me. "What?" I looked up to Bella who smiled at me. It was quiet for a moment and I sighed. "Well then I guess I'll leave…" Any more time around his contaminated ass and I'd be laid up just like him.

"Can you get the soup I have sitting on the stove, please?" Bella asked and I nodded. Anything to get me out of that damn room. I hauled ass down the steps and quickly poured the soup into a large container before taking it back up. Bella met me in the hall and whispered her thanks before going back into Em's room.

I waited outside of the door and when Bella came out of the room she was tucking something into her pocket. I stood from my position on the ground and she smiled at me.

"What's that?" I asked following her downstairs.

"Uh, Emmett just gave me his keys." She slipped an arm around my waist. I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly why.

"It's been like a month…" I grumbled and she led me to the couch.

"I know," She pursed her lips. "But you could think of it as him watching out for me. When you aren't around he does the same thing… It's like another pair of eyes." She poked my side and leaned into me. "So I was thinking…"

"About?" I played with her messy ponytail.

"Prom."

Shit.

"Yeah?" I guess I hadn't considered her when I decided not to go. Prom is kind of a girl thing, of course she'd want to go.

"Yeah, I think I would like to go this year." Her eyes flicked rolled up to meet mine and I lifted an eyebrow. "Don't judge me. I didn't get to go last year."

"You weren't asked?"

"Oh, I was asked." She chuckled. "But there wasn't anyone worth going with. But now I have you." She snuggled into me, lifting her knee and stretching it across my lap. I cupped her cheek with one hand and rested the other on her hip.

"That you do." I said before leaning down and capturing her lips. She hummed against my lips and ran her fingers over the stubble on my jaw that I was too lazy to shave this morning.

"So you'll go?" She asked, pulling away a little, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"If I'd known that this would've made you this happy I would have asked a while ago." She squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. She righted herself so that she straddled my lap and pressed her lips to mine again. "Thank you, thank you!" She said between kisses. I chuckled at her enthusiasm. Her kisses then moved from my lips and down my neck. When she reached my pulse point my smile fell and I moaned under her ministrations.

Her hips shifted against me until our pelvises pressed together. I rapidly began to swell beneath her. Dear god, she was going to kill me. I swallowed thickly when she bucked against me. If she kept at it I would come in my pants like a prepubescent boy.

She gripped my hair and pulled my head back before stopping her kisses and looking me in the eye. "Is there a problem?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I don't think we should…" She sat back on my lap and let go of my hair. She pouted, the excitement present only seconds ago was replaced by disappointment.

"Why is that?" She asked softly, brushing a strand of hair from my face. I smiled at her sadly and she shook her head. "Because of me? Edward, I told you, I know when enough is enough." She bit her lip and looked at my through her eyelashes. "And I was just getting started."

"Holy shit…" I gasped as she sidled down onto me again.

"I'm a big girl; I know what I'm doing." She ran her fingers over my jaw again. "If it's something else, I'll stop."

"Well I don't want to walk around with this all day." I said, waving toward my cock. Bella bit her lip in thought and I rolled my eyes. "Fuck it." I grabbed her ass and held her so that she didn't fall when I flipped us over. She let out a surprised gasp and widened her legs for me. I ducked my head and kissed her deeply, rocking my hips in a circular motion against hers.

"Mmm," She moaned into my mouth before lightly biting my lip. I slipped an arm under her back, making her arch up and press her full tits into my chest. Dear god she felt so good, soft in all the right places. "That's what I'm talkin' about." She gasped, letting her head fall back as I slammed my hips against her. As good and warm as she was it wasn't enough or too much, at the same time. Her hand slipped off of her shoulder and went to the buttons on her shirt.

"Bella, keep your clothes on." I whispered into her heated skin. She let out a frustrated grunt and dropped her hand.

"Edward-"

"If you start stripping we'll be on this couch until Esme gets home. That'll be a problem." I whispered before gasping.

Holy shit.

Maybe I wasn't the one that was ready. Sure I was physically ready, hard as fuck in fact. But I wasn't quite sure I was ready to get into all of this with Bella. She meant too much for me to do with her what I did with Rose, or even Lauren.

"Let's just take it-" My words stuck in my throat as Bella locked eyes with me and grabbed my hand, making me cup her boob. She let out a gasping moan that I smothered with my mouth and arched into my hand more, pure ecstasy on her face. Not going to lie, I'm sure my expression mirrored hers. Everything about this girl was perfect, including the C cup I held.

"Fuck, baby…" I whispered, kneading her tit as I hitched her leg up over my hip and was on the brink of coming when the sound of a door hitting the wall sounded from behind us. My eyes shot open to meet Bella's equally shocked brown ones. I pushed off of her and attempted to sit back against the couch before whoever saw us.

But of course it was too fucking late. I looked toward the door to see Rosalie staring slack jawed at us. She looked like a freaking cartoon, I looked back to a furiously blushing Bella who glared at Rose.

"Well this is weird." She said, snapping back to her usual self. "I knew some strange crap happened in this little and apparently incestuous town." She said flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Don't either of you have anything to say? I'm pretty sure inbreeding is illegal in like forty nine states." I squinted and she rolled her eyes. "Mississippi."

"What are you doing here, Rosalie?" Bella asked, straightening out her shirt.

"I could ask you two dirty birds the same thing." Rose smirked. "Does Emmett know about this?" She waved a finger at us and lifted an eyebrow.

"As a matter of fact, he does. He joins us sometimes. We have a no sibling left behind policy." Bella spoke up from behind me and I lifted my eyebrows as I turned to her.

"I see… Well, Bella, looks like you're making your way around early on." She smirked.

"You're one to talk." I snapped and Rose winked.

"I guess so, huh?"

"Maybe you could give me a few tips sometime, Rose?" I snorted out a laugh and Rosalie glared at Bella. When her catty eyes turned to me she crooked a finger.

"I think we should talk, Edward." I narrowed my eyes at her and Bella put her hand on mine.

"I don't think that's such a great idea. It didn't work out so well last time…" I squeezed her hand before standing. Emmett probably wasn't awake to flip his shit, much less hear us. Rose tilted her head towards the kitchen before leaving the room. I leaned down to kiss Bella once more before following after Rosalie.

I tugged my hand through my hair and rounded the corner to the kitchen. Rose sat on the edge of the table smirking and fanning herself with her hand. "What?"

"Well that was pretty hot." _Um_… "I almost wish I hadn't interrupted it." _Ew_. "You've still got it huh?" I wrinkled my nose and she shifted her thighs, biting her lip.

"Well duh, it's only been like two months. Are you okay?" I asked when her eyelids lowered. I'm sure a month ago I probably would have dived onto her for looking at me like that. But my mind was focused on the brunette in the other room.

"I'm fine." She squinted at me and cocked her head to the side. "You do know that the doctors will kill you if they find out about this, right?" I wrinkled my nose at her calling Carlisle and Esme 'the doctors'… who does that?

"No, I didn't. Tell me more." I said sarcastically.

"Well I'd like to propose a deal. If you keep our little secret… a secret then I won't tell Em about you and Bella." I shrugged; I wasn't going to tell Emmett anyway. Who's ass do you think he'd kick if he found out I fucked his girlfriend. The same girlfriend who was currently eyeing my dick that didn't get the memo, that playtime was over.

"Look, you should stop hanging that over my head. Because if he finds out we might fight, sure, but you'll be the one on the curb, Rose. At the end of the day, I'll still be his brother. Anyway you knew that you and Emmett were a thing. I didn't."

"And if they find out about Bella, they'll probably end up kicking one of you two out." She glared, standing to her full height.

"I guess you wouldn't be around to see that though, huh?" I said narrowing my eyes at her. Her gaze changed and I couldn't tell if she wanted to kill me or screw me.

"Well if I'm gonna get dumped anyway we should probably make this time." She approached me and I backed up until I hit the wall.

"I have a girlfriend, Rose, and unlike some, I choose to remain faithful. So thanks, but no thanks." I gripped her shoulders and moved her back a step. "So did you come to actually check on Emmett or just stalk my life?" She glared at me for a moment, searching my eyes, before spinning on her heel and marching up the stairs. I looked over my shoulder to the clock on the stove to see that it was past time for us to go.

"Bella?" I grabbed two granola bars and left the kitchen, grabbing the backpacks that we'd dumped in the hall.

"Hmm?" She looked up at me from the couch before standing.

"You ready?" She nodded and I handed her a granola bar before taking her hand. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay; you'll just have to make it up to me later." She smiled and kissed my cheek before ducking out to the car.

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	18. My Newfound Ailment

**Thanks to: dazzleglo, nelly1145, xxunowhoxx, Vane3131, NeviaAnn, janshanr, i. heart. the. doctor , sandy4321, ArianaRizCullen, dowlingnana and TwilightSy!**

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And of course that motherfucker managed to get me sick. I swore on everything I had, I was dying. Except unlike Emmett I got my ass up and did what I needed to do. Including going to church on Easter Sunday and sitting through a three hour service. A three hour service filled with sniffling and coughing that resulted in my having to leave to go to the bathroom a couple of times. I was placed between Bella, who was immune or some shit, and Emmett who wouldn't get it again.

The doctors made sure they stayed far away, which was ironic. You know, because they deal with sick people constantly. Of course both of them fulfilled their parental duties and made sure I had what I needed to get better but at this point I needed morphine for this shit.

"You may be dismissed. Have a wonderful Easter." Father said to the congregation. The pews quickly cleared and I staggered to my feet and filed out with the rest. I watched Bella's cute ass on the way to the parking lot. She wore a cute deep blue dress that reached a little past mid-thigh, but it didn't cling so it was church appropriate. The waist was tapered to enhance her natural hourglass figure and the fabric looked so soft. I just wanted to touch her, pull her into my arms.

So soft…

"What'd you say, dear?" Mom asked as she and Dad flanked my sides.

What did I say? Was I talking? "I don't know." I got really hot all of a sudden, even in the unseasonably cold weather. Then I got dizzy. Oh damn it all to hell. I think I stumbled into Dad who caught me and said something that I might have automatically tuned out, just from years of practice. Then I was sitting on a cold, stone bench.

"Bella? E-" Oh my sweet, Bella… I just wanted her to hold me… Carlisle called me and I wanted to make him leave her alone. She was perfect the way she is. He should leave her alone.

"Okay, Edward…" Mom said softly and my eyes attempted to widen. Oh man, I hope I didn't talk about Bella. "Bella's coming, just rest yourself. We're going to go bring the car around." They left and were replaced by two other bodies. When did our family get so big? There are like… replacement family members.

I slumped back against the bench and looked to my left to see Emmett leaning over my lap. Maybe someone else could come and replace him. We should have enough people for that now. My head lolled over and I saw Bella staring at me with her eyebrows furrowed. She was so pretty, but she shouldn't frown.

"Edward, you should be quiet now." She whispered and I felt her pat my leg.

"He's really out of it huh?" Oh damn, now I was cold. Who decided to take me into the cold? "Was I like that?"

"No… He's worse because he's too stubborn to lie down." Bella said, her pretty voice colored with disdain. "I'm sure this cold weather is just making things worse." There were a lot of murmurs around me and I heard some old women muttering about how lowly it was to come to church drunk. I frowned and lifted my hand and the middle finger followed.

Ha, that was poetic.

Oh… Maybe I heard it in a song.

There were gasps and then soft hands were pushing mine down. "Honey, you can't do that." She whispered to me again. Oh fuck those old women. There was another gasp and the sound of Emmett's laughter. Why was everyone so loud? I just wanted to sleep. Hell, maybe I was hung-over.

"I wonder if this is how he thinks every day." Emmett boomed from next to me. Why was he still here? Where was the car? I wanted my bed. Damn it I wanted Bella.

"I'm right here, Edward." She said softly, and her hand rubbed my arm. I wanted her to give me a kiss and make me feel better.

"I'll give you a kiss." Emmett said loudly in my ear. I lifted a hand and pushed his face away, or at least I thought I did. Hell, maybe I just said it out loud.

"Stop…" I groaned the sound of tires on wet pavement told me that my parents were here. Emmett and Bella lugged me to the car, pushing me in before sitting on either side of me. The ride home was taking fucking forever and I could barely hold my head up. I think I ended up falling onto Bella at one point but when I got home I quickly realized that I was drooling onto Emmett's suit jacket.

"Alright, dude. We should get you inside."

"Before I barf." I muttered, out loud… I think. Oh god, everything was so confusing.

"Are…" Voices just mixed together in the background and I groaned at the loudness. But one voice stuck out in particular. On beautiful, angelic voice.

"Edward, are you going to throw up?" I opened my eyes and looked into a pair of clear blue ones.

Carlisle?

Hell, I don't know… Everyone in the house had blue eyes. Except for my Bella. And Esme, I guess… Well, maybe Emmett's eyes weren't blue… I don't know…

Anyway, Carlisle was an angel.

So I told him. "You're an angel, Dad…" It was like an Easter miracle.

"Thanks, son. Are you going to throw up?" I didn't think so, I was going to start taking off my clothes if someone didn't get me a fan though. I looked up at Bella and winked and heard a gasp. Then I was flying, until I hit a wall. I grunted at the pressure on my stomach, maybe I was going to barf.

"Oh, now Emmett, you could have lifted him more gently. You're going to make him get sick." I felt someone rub my arm and turned to see that Esme was the one scolding my brother.

"Mom, I'm tired." I sighed and then it got really warm and I was bouncing rapidly on Emmett's shoulder. "Jesus, man, will you slow down?" I asked as stairs blurred into one another. I blinked sleepily before realizing we weren't on stairs.

Emmett laughed boisterously beneath me and I wondered why he was under me. "Because you're way past 'out of it', dude." I felt small hands on my face and someone lifted one of my eyelids. I stared into Esme's eyes for a second before my other eye was opened.

"No, dear, he's not intoxicated." She sounded exasperated and I knew that my angel was being a dick again. Which you wouldn't expect from an angel.

"Is he talking about me?" My angel asked in that godlike voice. He should sing more often.

"He could be talking about Bella." Emmett chuckled.

Bella giggled from somewhere around and then I was on my back again. "I don't think Edward would call me a dick." No, I wouldn't. "See?" A hand covered my mouth and I wondered why she was taking my temperature from my mouth.

"I'll get him water," Mom said before walking away. The hand moved from my mouth and a cool cloth dabbed at my forehead. That felt good…

"Edward, feel better." My angel patted my leg before leaving the room. Was he still afraid to get sick? "Not afraid, Edward, just cautious. My goodness, he's talkative today, huh?" Then he was gone, just leaving my Bella and Emmett.

"Dude, I'm sorry for giving this to you…" Emmett said, patting me roughly on the shoulder. "Who would have known you'd get it like two times harder."

"Well if he would have just stayed in the bed…" Bella sounded mad and my legs felt like they were sitting on ice. "Can you get an extra blanket please?" She asked. Then Emmett fucking stampeded out of the room, or at least that's what it sounded like.

"Are you mad at me, baby?" I asked, turning my heavy head towards her. She brushed my hair back and sighed.

"No, I just want you to take better care of yourself. But if you stay in bed for a day or so, you'll probably get over it, just like Emmett."

"You should be a nurse…" I murmured. "You can be my nurse. You should go get one of those sexy nurse costumes." Maybe even a whip. Nurses didn't use whips though, I guess.

In a perfect world they would… Or at least the hot ones would.

"Edward, you have to try and stop talking or Carlisle and Esme will freak out about us." She whispered.

"If I get quiet will you dress up for me?" I asked holding up my hand for her to take. She rested her cheek in it and I attempted to smile, because she was cute as hell.

"Of course, baby. Now, shh." She kissed my palm and laid my hand down again.

"Here you go." Esme said before I heard some ice knocking around in a glass. "Now, I'm going to skidaddle, because unlike your dad, I am afraid to get as sick as you. Feel better." She kissed my forehead and left the room. Something heavy hit my feet and Em muttered something about watching a basketball game.

"Go to sleep, baby." Bella said sweetly, scooting in closer, now that we were alone. I pursed my lips for a kiss and heard her chuckle. Her soft lips pressed against mine for a moment before she pulled away. My eyes that stopped working, I guess, were already shut so I just let myself drift off.

"_It'll be my first time having Christmas without my mom." I whispered to my friend. She frowned and pulled her hair out of the ponytail, letting the soft strands fall around her shoulders._

"_I'm sorry…" She pouted and picked up my hand, holding it tightly in hers. I reached into the pocket of my hoodie and fingered the bracelet in my pocket. It was the one thing I didn't tell anyone I had. Kids were always in and out and a lot of things were stolen, but not my Mom's bracelet. It was too special._

_I missed her._

_But not for long, because I was taken back to the dinner table where my family was slicing up turkey. _

"_Let me do it, woman." Dad chuckled, taking the knife from my mom as she struggled with the cooked bird. Every year we ate one, a big one, and every year it made me want to become one of those people that didn't eat meat. But then Mom would make me a hamburger and I liked hamburgers more than I liked beans and soy._

"_I've got it, Edward." She laughed, hip checking Dad away from her. "Go make Eddie a plate; you know he won't eat the turkey anyway." I sat alone at the table as I watched them, just like I did every year. Grandma and Grandpa, Mom's parents, both died before I was born, and Granny and Granddaddy died only a few months after my second birthday. It was always a quiet day, one kind of like every other. Mom had no siblings to come, and Dad's only sister, Aunt Reneta, was in Europe, not liking us._

_Dad sat a plate in front of me and ruffled my hair that stuck up every which way, just like his. I grinned at him and he winked. Then I was alone at the table in my house. My friend walked out and handed me a plate without turkey, her yellow sundress swinging by her knees._

"_Thank you." I said taking it from her with a cough._

"_You're welcome." I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around again. This was my house, what was she doing here? I was happy to see her, of course… But she was only there when Mom and Dad were gone. I wanted them to all be there._

"_Eddie?" She said sweetly, sitting in her own seat._

"_Yeah?" I spooned corn into my mouth and she smiled._

"_What is it that you and Rosalie don't want to tell me and Emmett?" She asked, which was a weird question._

"_You know Rose?" Do I know Rose? I think I did._

"_Of course I know Rose, silly. But what did you guys do?" She cocked her head to the side, her lopsided braid falling over her shoulder. I sighed as I looked into her eyes, wracking my brain for the possible answer to her question._

_What did we do?_

_I stared at her for a good long while and her angelic smile never faded. After my head was mildly caught up with the situation and the question I spoke._

"_We slept together." I told her, a little confused. Why did she ask that? I pushed my chair away from the table when she gasped loudly. I went to her and took her soft hand into mine. "I'm sorry. I love you." She sighed before smiling at me._

"_I love you too, Eddie."_

**I promise. Edward will realize who his dream girl is at some point in the future.**

**So, what'd you think?**

**Leave me love?**

**Or twenty love(s)..? Haha**

**Next tentative update is Tuesday; sooner if we reach twenty!**

**I'll tease, or I'll attempt to. I start a new job tomorrow, ladies… wish me luck!**


	19. REPEAT SORRY

**Ignore this, sorry :( The show goes on though, just hit that next button!**


	20. She Did a Bad Thing

**Thank you to all of last chapters reviewers! I loved all of them! I'm sorry I can't list names but I'm off to work and pressed for time :/ I know that last chapter posted twice now, sorry, but thank you guys for telling me! I'm just gonna leave it up for now so that you ladies can review this one :D**

**In case you were wondering, FF put what I had labeled as chapter 19 above chapter 18 (...?) so I scrolled down and clicked the last chapter before jetting off to work. But y'all don't really care haha. Read on!**

I traced a finger over Edward's pouty red lips as he slept. He looked more peaceful than I'd ever seen him and I wished he'd always look like that. An almost childlike happiness was displayed when he slept. I didn't want to leave him, but it would seem a little weird to stay with him for so long. So I dropped a kiss on his temple and grabbed his water glass, taking it down to the kitchen.

Esme came out of Carlisle office and met me in the hall, taking the glass from me. "Bella, dear, you are a godsend." She smiled, outing the glass on the kitchen counter. "Thank you for everything. I promise we didn't bring you here just to wait on our boys." She rolled her eyes and pulled me into a hug.

"Especially Edward. I know he can be a handful sometimes." She pursed her lips and I frowned. Sure, Edward could be a little much at times, but which one of us wouldn't be? They still looked at Edward in a negative light even though he'd changed so much since I'd arrived. He was more like his usual self.

"Edward's really no problem. A little stubborn…" I lifted my eyebrows and shook my head. "But not too bad. I am glad to be able to spend time with both of them. Even though they seem to think that they're on their deathbed." She giggled and gestured to the table before putting milk on the stove to warm.

"You know how men are when they're sick. That's why I'm happy Carlisle is watching to make sure he doesn't catch whatever this is. He's worse than the both of them combined." I chuckled and she put a little bit of hot chocolate mix into the milk. "You deserve a medal for dealing with them both and not pulling out your hair. I remember when the two of them had the flu when they were about fourteen, we weren't sure how serious it was, but they made it seem so horrible that Carlisle and I quarantined them. They were laid up for four days with that flu. Then I ended up catching it." I winced and she nodded.

"Yeah, turned out it was a twenty four hour virus." She rolled her eyes. "But my little drama queens hammed it up quite a bit. Since they were together they'd devised a plan, when we were due home, they would do something to make one another throw up. Bella, it was disgusting, I still, till this day, don't know what it was, nor did I ask. But they missed a whole week of school, coincidentally the week before spring break."

"Mom, is that the only story you have about us?" Emmett grumbled as he came in and riffled through the cabinets. He glanced over his shoulder at me, "That's the only one she ever tells. It's why none of her friends come over here." He playfully stuck out his tongue at her and she did the same to him. I chuckled at their exchange and Esme stood to pour the hot chocolate into three cups.

"Don't tell Dad about this… His blood sugar is a little high these days. He doesn't take nearly as good care of himself as you'd think a doctor would. So that leaves me to regulate for him." She rolled her eyes in mock annoyance, but it was easy to see that she'd do anything for him. Emmett and I chuckled and she handed us each a coffee mug.

There was a little commotion from the hallway and we looked up to see Carlisle standing in the doorway with a tissue. "Esme… It's happening." He sneezed, and groaned loudly.

Emmett snorted next to me, "Please tell me I wasn't as bad as that…" I shook my head and sipped my hot chocolate. I had filled my quota of sick guys to care for. I was done for a while. Esme stood and grabbed an extra tissue box from the cabinet before putting her hand on his back.

"Let's get you into bed then." They shuffled off down the hall and Emmett pulled up a chair next to me, before dropping down into it.

"Have you noticed anything fishy about Edward recently?" He asked squinting at me. My face dropped as I looked at him.

"Recently? I guess so…" _Avert! Avert!_ "He did mention something about stripping and then wink at Esme. That was a little weird." I snorted at the memory of Esme's horrified face as her son was lugged away by Emmett.

"No, but that was funny as hell! Did you see Mom's face?"

_Averted_.

I nodded and laughed harder. "And then him calling Dad an angel, and then a dick. I wish I had taped that, he would think that's hilarious." I nodded. My heart pounded loudly in my chest as I tried to keep him engaged.

"He really would, make sure you have your phone when he wakes up." Em nodded and pulled the phone out of his pocket, resting it on the table. I sipped my hot chocolate for a moment in silence before Emmett spoke again.

"Rose has been acting weird." He frowned down at his still full and steaming mug.

"Well, she's a girl, we tend to do that." I said softly with a glance at the ceiling. "She's probably just got her period or something; you know how those things can be."

"Um A) I don't, B) Ew and C) I meant Rose and Edward together… " I let out a sigh as I realized he wasn't even worried about Edward and my relationship. "It's a little strange that they only ever talk when they're alone, and then they argue."

"That's only happened, like, once though…" I frowned.

"No, before you came they argued once and then they argued again the other day, when I was sick. I could tell because Rose just bitched about Edward the entire time when she was up with me. He hasn't said anything to you about her?"

"Nope, but what did Rose say?" I asked, gritting my teeth. She was such a bitch sometimes. I hated that word and when it was used to identify the female population but there really was no better of an example of the word than Rosalie. I was still confused about her and Emmett getting together. They seem like polar opposites. He was happy go lucky and always talking. Whereas Rose was usually rude and only spoke to piss someone off.

"She just talked about Edward being a dick… I'm sorry this is what you first come into. I know it's a little complicated, and you don't know any of us all that well… I shouldn't be talking about this with you… It's just unnecessary stress." He shook his head and lightly punched my shoulder. "Sorry about that."

"No, wait. I am a little too into this now for you to stop telling me things." I said, leaning forward a bit. I set the mug to the side and lifted an eyebrow at Emmett.

"Great." He clapped his hands and smiled as though that was what he wanted the whole time. "So here's the thing," He said, lowering his voice and looking around the room. I was actually very surprised at his low volume. I thought he only had two settings, loud and louder. But I leaned forward and tried not to let my shock show. "you have to hear me out." I nodded.

"Okay," He smiled. "You know how out of it he is?" I bit my lip and gave him a wary glance, sitting up a little straighter. He held out his hands telling me to wait, and I did promise to hear him out, so I shut my mouth. "We should ask him a question, just pitch it out there, and he might answer it." He shrugged and lifted his eyebrows as he looked at me.

"Emmett, I'm not so sure about that. Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" After everything Edward has done to make sure I was comfortable, I didn't want to go behind his back and betray him like this.

"Bella, what if they paired up to kill someone? I think we would be doing the community a favor by figuring out what the hell is going on. We are like civil servants." I bit my lip and nodded. It wasn't so much Emmett's admittedly terrible argument that made me give in as it was the biting curiosity. It was a little unfair for them to keep such a seemingly important secret from their better halves, wasn't it?

"Yes! Bella!" He yanked me out of my chair and crushed me to him, hugging me tightly.

"What?! Why are you so happy?"

"Well I can't get answers without you." He said lowering me to the ground. "If I ask him questions he'll probably wake up and strangle me. But if you ask… he'll get all lovey dovey and probably answer you and then kiss you." He chuckled before grabbing my hand. "Let's go!"

"Are you sure you don't want to just _ask_ Rosalie first? Before we go snooping?"

"It's not snooping if it's our business too! Well… my business and yours by association." He shrugged before giving me a tug that I'm sure was meant to be a lot gentler than it was. It was probably a good thing that Edward wasn't around when Emmett and I talked; Emmett didn't always recognize his own strength. It didn't bother me half as much as I was sure it'd bother Edward.

We crept up the stairs, being unnecessarily quiet as we headed into Edward's room. He was too out of it to hear us or care and Esme and Carlisle were in their room freaking out about Carlisle new found sickness. I pushed open Edward's door to see him looking a little pitiful. He looked truly sick, all of his color was gone and he was sweating.

"I miss her…" He whispered, his peaceful face contorting into one so pained it was hard to look at. My eyebrows furrowed and I went to his side, sitting on the bed.

"Who is he talking about?" Emmett mouthed to me over Edward's bed. I shrugged; I had been in here as long as he had. His hand moved and twitched up by his pillow and I sighed. He must have been talking about his mother. I hadn't known Edward to care so much about anything else.

His right hand had always twitched in his sleep when he dreamed about her. When we were younger, her told me that it was the way he waved to her, when she was alive. It didn't make sense then and I later realize that his right hand always went to his pocket when he missed his mom. He kept her bracelet in that pocket of his hoodie for as long as I'd known him. I still wasn't sure why that was what he had of hers, but I never questioned it.

"What are you waiting for?" Em mouthed a little impatiently.

"What do I say?" I asked silently, with a shrug. He shrugged back at me and I sighed. "Helpful." I mouthed. I looked down at Edward and lightly combed my fingers through his hair, making him smile. It was something his parents used to do and it always immediately perked him up.

"Edward?" I whispered, and he furrowed his eyebrows. I casted a wary glance at Emmett before looking back to Edward again. "Eddie?" Emmett snorted and I waved him off as Edward's head tilted up on the pillow.

"Yeah?" He slurred.

"What is it that you and Rosalie don't want to tell me and Emmett?" His eyebrows furrowed and my eyes widened.

"Good going." Emmett said pursing his lips.

"Like you could do better?" I hissed.

"You know Rose?" He whispered, his head turning more towards me.

"Of course I know Rose, Silly. But what did you guys do?" I asked, honestly hoping he wouldn't say they killed someone. He was quiet for a while and then I gave up, frowning at Emmett.

"Sorr-" I started, only to be cut off as Edward spoke.

"We slept together." He said slowly. My mouth dropped open and my eyes welled with tears. I looked up to Emmett who stared down at his brother with pure fury in his eyes. I couldn't hold back my gasp as his words replayed in my head. Edward's hand grabbed mine, and I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm sorry. I love you." He said drowsily, his head tilting back down. Emmett let out a harsh breath before he stormed out of the room.

"I love you too, Eddie." I whispered, hoping like hell that this was just the cold medicine, Esme slipped into his drink, talking.

**I hope you all enjoyed!**

**Leave me thoughts and love :)**

**If we don't reach twenty the update will be Saturday!**

**I'll tease!**


	21. My Confronting

When I woke up I was extremely disoriented. My head felt like ninety pounds and my throat was sore. And cold, to make thing worse. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders before pushing myself into a standing position. I looked at the clock to see that I had missed half of the day, which meant I missed Easter dinner!

Fuck. I was really looking forward to that. It was one o'clock, in the next morning, I assumed and staggered down the hall. I lifted an eyebrow as I saw that Bella's bedroom light was on. I made it to her door and pushed it open to see Emmett and her standing in the floor playing tug of war with a telephone.

"What in the hell are you doing in here?" I barked, but it came out as more of a groan. I sighed at my own pitiful attempt and then realized neither of them heard me.

"Emmett, wait until he is up! Don't jump to conclusions because you could ruin something great with Rose. Don't do something you'll regret!" Emmett yanked the phone from Bella and went backwards until she hit her desk. I snapped into action, crossing the room to help her.

"Edward?" She gasped, pushing off of the desk and coming to me. I glared at Emmett who stomped up to me, leaning over Bella to get in my face.

"Emmett, stop!" She whisper yelled, taking the phone back from Em.

"You fucking dick!" He seethed, pushing my shoulder roughly. Bella gasped as I stumbled back like a fucking punk. Bella slapped his chest, and not in a playful way. It sounded like it could have hurt. Emmett's jaw clenched as he glared down at her and I regained my strength and took her hand, pulling her behind me.

"What the fuck is your malfunction? Pushing her around like that!" I looked over my shoulder to see if Bella was okay.

"Edward, I'm fine, but please, go lay down." She begged, looking scared. That look made me turn to Emmett with nothing but fury coursing through my veins. She pulled on my shirt and I shook my head.

"What the hell is going on?!" I asked, ignoring Bella.  
Emmett ignored my words and stepped toe to toe with me. "You had sex with my fucking girlfriend?!" My heart dropped as he glared at me, fists clenched as he waited for an answer.

"She told you?" I whispered, a little confused as to why she'd do that. This seemed like a long way to go just to give it all up in the end.

"No, you fucking bastard! You told me!" He pushed me again and I stumbled back into Bella. Her hands braced my waist, keeping me steady.

_I did what?_

"This is not the appropriate time to discuss this." She whispered, her usually sweet voice void of any and all emotion.

_Wait. _

_I did what?_

I must be dreaming or something. When in the hell did I tell them about that?!

"Oh I'm sorry, Bella. When is the best time to confront my traitorous brother? Hm?" He hissed, glaring at her over my shoulder.

"Hey, you're mad at me, not her." I reminded, shifting again to block her. I could feel the anger and hurt rolling off of him in waves. And I've done a lot of shit to Emmett but I had never felt this bad about it. Seeing the pain in his eyes almost made me not want to throw Rosalie under the bus. To know their relationship was fucked from the start wouldn't help a thing.

The guilt started to become disorienting as he glared and I swallowed. Actually, maybe it wasn't the guilt so much as it was the sickness that had me bed riddled.

"Emmett, I'm sorry." I said flat out, apparently earning a fist to the face. Bella cried out quietly as I fell back into her.

"Please don't fight!" She begged as I got back on my feet. I'll admit I deserved that one. If he slept with Bella, knowingly or not, I would have hit him too. It was fair. He pulled back his fist and Bella jumped in front of me, making his hand drop. "You guys are brothers, there has to be another way to deal with things. Fighting each other every time you get angry isn't okay."

"You _fucked_ my girlfriend!" He bellowed, a vein popping out of his too red forehead. Bella winced and I put a hand on her hip and went to move her but she swatted my hand away.

"While it's not okay, did it occur to you that it takes two to tango?" Bella said softly. "The blame shouldn't all be on him. You wouldn't hit Rosalie!"

"No but that's different, she's a girl." He argued, rolling his eyes.

"And he's your brother!"

"By way of adoption." He turned his eyes to mine. "You're fucking nothing to me now." I frowned, my anger melting away until I just felt guilty. Maybe I was wrong when I spoke to Rose. At the end of the day I guess I would be just as much to him as she was.

"Eight years, Emmett." She whispered and the room began to spin. They continued whisper arguing back and forth and it all became a blur again. My skin began feeling like it was on fire and I groaned.

"What a convenient time for an episode, you fuck." Emmett spat before my knees weakened and I hit the ground. I groaned loudly when my pressure filled head hit the ground.

"Oh my god, Edward!" Bella gasped and I reached up to grip my aching head. There was the sound of buttons pressing from in the room and I looked up to see Emmett holding the phone.

"No..." I whispered, lifting myself up onto my forearms.

"Maybe you should lay back." Bella said softly, lightly pushing down my shoulder. I frowned up at her as she fussed over me. She had tears in her eyes as she looked over me.

"We're not fighting anymore." I reached for her hand and lifted myself into a sitting position, dragging myself to rest against the wall. "Don't cry, honey." I took her hand between mine. My words did nothing though, as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"You really did sleep with Rose?" She whispered, another tear sliding down her cheek.

Fuck.

I hadn't even considered what Bella would think about this. It did happen before we'd met; I was hoping that she wouldn't care. Guess that wasn't going to happen.

"It was before I knew you." I said softly bringing her hand to my lips.

"Fuck!" Emmett screamed, throwing the phone against the door. Bella jumped and I moaned before coughing into my shoulder.

"Emmett… Please." She whispered, her eyes darting towards the door. Her wide eyes turned to me, "We need to get you into bed, before we have to take you to the hospital." Hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway and Bella moved away from me as Esme swung the door open.

"What in the world is going on in here?!" She gasped, shielding her eyes from the lights.

"Just a little family bonding…" I groaned.

"Yeah, we share everything, don't we?" He looked to me and his eye twitched. He pushed past Esme and left the room, leaving mom with Bella and I.

"What are you doing out of bed? Did you learn nothing from this morning?" She asked storming over to me and Bella. "Get under his other arm and help me lift, please?" Bella nodded and the two of them lifted me to my feet. "You're getting heavy, dear. I think it's time you start laying off of the snacks." She patted my stomach and Bella rubbed my back.

"Okay, Mom." I muttered, hell, I was in tip top shape. Anyway, I had bigger problems than my weight at the moment. Like my brother who was probably going to murder me as soon as I shut my eyes. And then there was my girlfriend who was on the verge of tears at my side.

"Oh, I can't get him far…" Mom pursed her lips and I struggled to stand, and help them out a little bit. "Bella, do you mind sleeping in Edward's room tonight? We won't be able to get him down the hall." Bella nodded and 'mhm'ed at mom before helping her get me to the bed.

"Edward, get some rest." Mom said with a concerned frown. "Bella, come with me, I'll get you a change of sheets for his bed and we'll get you settled it. You still have school tomorrow."

"I know where the sheets are, thank you. I can do it." She gave Esme a tense smile and hugged her. "Feel better, Edward." She patted my shoulder before escaping out of the room.

"She's a saint." Esme said sitting on the edge of the bed and tucking the covers up around my chin. "Get some sleep." She said, brushing the hair out of my face. "I think I'm going to be staying home tomorrow… I can't have two of my boys alone and sick." She stood and sighed. Two? Carlisle was sick? "Especially not _you two_." She shook her head and blew me a kiss before flipping off the lights and shutting the door.

I sighed and shut my eyes. How in the hell was I going to fix things with Emmett? We had never been on great terms per say, but I wanted to at least get to a place where he didn't want to castrate me. And then there was Bella, who was still extremely upset for a reason unbeknownst to me. It could be because I fucked a chick that had been nothing but horrible to her. But I didn't even _know_ Bella back then so she couldn't reasonably be upset with me.

Man, I was a fuck up.

Bella's door creaked open and I looked up to see her slight frame in the doorway. I slowly lifted my head and she came in, shutting the door behind her. The room darkened once more and the only thing I heard was Bella's light footsteps.

"Bella?" The bed dipped under her weight and the covers lifted to accommodate her. But she wasn't touching me.

"You slept with Rose." She stated, that seemed to be the topic of the night. One I wouldn't mind leaving in the past.

"I told you it was a while ago." I sniffled because my nose was running, and she sniffled to, for a completely different reason. "Why are you crying?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing.

Motherfuck, I was such a screw up. I'd made her cry again. "Please don't cry." I whispered, limply searching for her hand beneath the blanket.

"What about Emmett?"

"It was before I knew that she and Emmett were a thing. We did the deed and then two hours later, she and Em were Facebook official. I would have never touched her had I known she was dating Emmett." I whispered, wishing I could go back in time and undo everything.

"Why didn't you tell him… or me?" She asked her voice cracking as she spoke.

"I don't make it a habit to boast about my sexual history, especially when it would hurt Em if he found out." I clenched my jaw. I wasn't sure if it'd be a good time to tell her about Rosalie's threat, because it seemed like everything was about to come crumbling down.

"Edward…" She said softly. "I want you to tell me everything. I've been nothing but honest with you all of this time and I feel like I barely know you anymore…" _Anymore_?

"I'll tell you whatever you want." I said, turning my head to look at her. I lifted a heavy hand and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Really?" I nodded and she sighed.

"Any and everything."

"Well I guess we should start with past girlfriends or hookups… So I'm not blindsided again."

"I didn't do girlfriends-" I said, already feeling shittier. I hadn't cared to think about my sexual history until then and to say I wasn't proud would be an understatement.

She was going to hate me.

She mumbled something like, "Still don't…" And I lifted my eyebrow.

"What?"

"Answer my question please?" I gulped and began.

"Okay. There was Rose, Lauren-"

"Lauren, the one Angela introduced me to?" She gasped.

"Yes…"

"Continue." She choked out, and I was only on two. How was she going to feel at the end of this?

"Maggie Hamilton, she moved away. Um, Emily Jackman… And-" I bit my lip and turned my eyes to the ceiling. I had never anticipated my good looks and undeniable charm would come back to bite me in the ass. "Jessica Stanley."

Bella shot up next to me and I could feel her glare despite the fact that I couldn't see it. "_Nurse _Stanley?!"

"I'm sorry…" And I was. Had I known my sweet Bella was coming along I wouldn't have touched any of those other skanks. But after listing off the names of my past partners I suddenly felt like I wasn't in a place to call anyone a skank.

"Wow…" I would have given anything to get into her head at that point. To know if she still wanted me or if she was just as disgusted by me as Emmett was. I reached over to my side and clicked on Bella's lamp. She sat fiddling with her hands as she gnawed on her bottom lip. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she stared intently at her fingers.

"I'm sorry." I repeated. "If I'd known, Bella… I would have waited. For you." I took her hand and she looked at me, her eyes filled with tears.

"I don't understand… Excuse me for being self-absorbed, but what do they have that I don't? You sleep with all of them but I can barely get you to kiss me…" She whispered, her eyes widening and blinking away tears.

"Nothing! Nothing." I tried to assure her. "Bella, you just mean so much to me. With them, I didn't give a fuck about what would happen… You know if we-" She held up a hand and nodded. "I just wanted to scratch an itch… with them. It meant nothing." How could I tell her she was different? I still used her to scratch an itch. A love itch. But that wasn't romantic or anything close to it. And I wouldn't dare think to tell her that.

I opened my mouth to speak and she swiped away a tear. "I think that about answers all of my questions." She whispered quickly. She tossed off the covers and padded her way to the door, shutting it quietly behind her.

**I failed with the names again, I'm sorry.**

**But thank you to all my reviewers! I appreciate you all immensely! **

**Let's aim for twenty before Wednesday for an update!**

**Leave me love :D**


	22. More of My Accidents

**I am SO sorry for the extremely long wait. I promise I didn't give up on the story. My computer was taken in to have some viruses cleaned off and it took them way too long to fix everything... I'll post the next few chapters pretty quickly though. And thank you all for your reviews on the last chapter!**

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This whole outing my escapades with Rosalie was worse than I could have ever imagined. After kicking that flu's shitty ass a day later I'd received a congratulatory punch in the face from Emmett. Which resulted in my sporting a black eye. And to make things better Bella barely talked to me these days. She didn't completely ignore me, but I had a feeling she would have if she wasn't so compulsively nice. So not only was I rocking a black eye, but I wasn't getting any loving.  
At all.  
Carlisle and Esme found out about my sleeping with Rose. That ended up in a sex talk from Esme and a lecture about loyalty and family from Carlisle. Then the two of them jumped on the Bella and Emmett wagon. It really sucked ass to know that your whole family and girlfriend hated you.  
Well... Old girlfriend.  
I didn't even know if we were together anymore. I had come clean and I think I'd just disgusted her. That made sense because quite honestly I disgusted myself. But it was hard being with my Bella and not being with her at the same time. No more sneaky kisses or late night visits. Just a whole bunch of awkward and dismissive waves, on her part and a lot of pining on mine.

It was hard to believe that Emmett had only found out two days before, everything had changed so drastically in the past few days.  
"So Edward, remember that concert Alice played in?" Jazz asked as we headed out to my car from lunch. I was just happy he was still speaking to me. I was beginning to think that he'd joined the Let's Hate Edward Club the one that met Monday through Friday at my kitchen table.  
"Uh..."  
"Oh that's right. You don't. Because you weren't there." He bitched and Angela glared at me over her shoulder.

"People thought we were a couple." She pointed between her and Jasper.

"And while the couple approach works in some situations-" I unlocked the door to my Volvo and saw Emmett and Bella get into his car. My jaw ticked as the horrible reality that I may have lost my girlfriend set in.

"But when you're trying to _get the girl _it kind of looks bad." He finished.

"Maybe you guys should just be a couple already, seeing as Ben and Alice seem to be clueless." Jazz rolled his eyes and so did Angela when I checked my back mirror.

"Well excuse me, but I have a date to prom." Angela said smacking my shoulder. She folded her arms and sat back in her seat looking like she'd won the lottery. "Ben Cheney asked me yesterday."

"Well congrats."

"And Alice wants to go with me." Jazz boasted.

"That's great, man." I said, peeling out if my parking space and passing Em and Bella who didn't spare me a glance.

"Woah, woah watch out!" Jazz yelled. I focused on the road ahead and slammed on my breaks as a car backed out of its space quickly. The car jerked as it bumped a red BMW and I groaned.

"Oh fuck!" I groaned. As if this day couldn't get any worse. And then the owner of said red BMW popped out of the car running over to assess the damage. "Ugh..." Rosalie pushed her glasses into her hair and glared at me through the windshield.

"Hit and run, hit and run! This is the run part!" Jazz coaxed from my side. I scowled at him and stepped out of the car. "Dude, don't run on foot!"

"And just when I thought you couldn't ruin my life any more than you already have." She sneered, leaning over the trunk to look at the knick. There was a small silver scratch on her car, hell she could have probably fixed it with nail polish.

"I'm sorry, Rose. Of course I'll pay for the damage..." I sighed, pulling off my sunglasses as I searched my own car for any damage.

"The car isn't the only damage you'll be paying for, Edward Cullen." Rose narrowed her eyes at me. "I'm done letting you screw me over."

"Stop." I held up a hand and rolled my eyes. "It's not like every things exactly been peachy on my side of things." Where the hell did she get off, trying to play the victim? I had to bore the brunt of the consequences just like she did. But unlike her, I'd lost my family too.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever." She bent down again and wiped at the side of her bumper. "It seems like today would be a good day to have a talk with the doctors, huh?"

My jaw locked and I rolled my eyes. It was then I realized that if she was going to sabotage anything that survived the wreckage between Bella and I, there wasn't a thing I could do about it. I'd just have to sit back and watch everything around me fall apart.

"Do what you will." I murmured before turning on my heel and going back to my door. Rosalie's heels clicked behind me for a moment before she grabbed my arm.

"Wait," I turned towards her and lifted an eyebrow. "If you can get Emmett to hear me out, then I can keep your little secret, a secret." She rolled her eyes. "For a while that is." I smirked.

"Okay, let me get this straight. I help you, and you just wait a while longer to fuck me over? I don't think so. Anyway Emmett isn't talking to me."

"Get Bella to talk to him."

"She's not speaking to me either." I sent a pointed glance towards the car where Em and Bella stood, staring and talking with each other. Rose shook her head and glared at them.

"Well make sure you keep your incestuous slut away from him. At least until I can talk to him."

"They're just friends. And don't call her a slut." I snapped, pulling my door open and getting into the car. Rose sneered at me before leaving and getting into her own car.

"What the hell was that?" Angela asked from the back. I shook my head and maneuvered myself away from Rose's car.

"Just Rose being Rose." I grunted before heading down the street to the diner. We all got out and Ange and Jazz went to get seats while I headed to the bathroom.

When I got back they both stared at me with wide eyes. Angela moved over and made room for me but neither said a thing, they just stared.

"Hi, how can I help you all?" Our waitress, also known as Emily, greeted. When her eyes landed on me she blushed deeply and tucked her hair behind her ear. I smiled tersely and reminded myself to never bring Bella here. That is, if she ever talked to me again.

"Hi," I gave her my order before passing the menu to Angela. Emily cast me not so sly glances every few seconds as my friends ordered and I sighed. She graduated two years before, I think... Then she went off to college got pregnant and ended up right back here. She gave up the kid- which wasn't mine, by the way- and landed in this diner which she's been stuck in for a while now.

"So," Angela started, folding her hands on the table in front of her. "Jazz and I just discovered something that is worth addressing," they made eye contact and Jasper nodded. "We just don't know how to go about addressing it."

"Just want to let you know that even though we'll still be your friends, sleeping with your sister is social suicide." Jazz blurted, cutting Ange off. My wide eyes snapped to his and he slapped a hand over his mouth. The old couple sitting in the booth behind him turned and gave us horrified looks.

"She's not my sister, asshole. I've only known her for a few months! And why would I give a fuck about what people think about it?"

"So you _are_ boning your sister?" And it was apparent that Angela didn't get my point.

"Uh, no I'm not. And she isn't my sister." I huffed.

"Then what was Rose talking about at the car?" Jazz asked and Emily sat our drinks down in front of us.

"You heard that?" I groaned, remembering that Rosalie hadn't exactly been quiet earlier. It just made me wonder how many other people heard her.

Maybe I did care what people thought... A little.

"Obviously, asshole." He rolled his eyes.

"Okay, look. Bella and I were dating... Because she isn't my sister." I said looking at both of them. "And one day Rose walked in on us kissing..." Angela gasped dramatically and covered her mouth.

"You kissed your sister?!" The couple turned around again and Jazz and Ange fell into laughter.

"Fuck both of you." I said, scowling at Ange. I folded my arms over my chest and waited for my food to come out. I was done talking to these fuckers.

"Wait, wait... I'm sorry. Tell me of your troubles." She said patting my shoulder.

"Rose and I slept together." They both gasped way too flamboyantly. "And we told each other that we wouldn't tell Emmett. I didn't want to hurt him-"

"But you slept with his girlfriend." Jasper lifted an eyebrow.

"It was the day they became Facebook official. So I didn't know they were a thing." I sighed.

"Emmett must have mentioned it at some point-" He said like I actually talked to Em.

"Oh on one of the many occasions when I spoke to Emmett?" I asked, sarcasm oozing from my tone.

"How'd they find out then? If you claim to not Talk to Emmett..." Jasper asked as we all leaned back so that Emily could serve us.

"He and Bella thought Rose and I were keeping something from them. Because-"

"They just assumed that the two of you were keeping a secret?" Angela asked lifting a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Will you two shut the hell up and let me tell it?" They nodded. "Okay. Rose and I got into it about what happened between us, like every fucking time she came over so I guess it was obvious. But get this," I picked up a greasy fry and shook my head. "They found out because Mom drugged me. They waited until I was sleeping and snuck into my room."

"That's some mafia shit." Jazz snorted and I nodded and popped a fry into my mouth. I glanced at my watch before telling them we needed to hurry, to get back to school on time. It was quiet for the rest of the ten minutes we were there. I drove back to school with no accidents and Bella, Rose and Emmett still weren't there so we entered the building with no fanfare. I stayed in Econ long enough to be marked present and get the gist of the lesson, but then I dipped out to head for my locker. I passed by Bella's Calculus class, and then James' class, making sure everything was okay. James was accounted for but Bella wasn't. And strangely, neither was Emmett.

Bella wasn't one to skip class and neither was Emmett as far as I knew.

My phone began ringing in my pocket as I went to my locker. I pulled it out to see that it was Emmett.

"Where are you guys?" I answered, putting in my locker combination.

"In the bathroom in the math wing." Emmett's words were rushed and shaky. My eyes widened as I glared at the floor.

"Why the fuck are you guys in a bathroom?" Was this their way of getting back at Rose and me? What the fuck? I shook it off and began hauling ass to the math wing.

"I think Bella is having a panic attack... I don't know what I did... But she wants you!" He sounded like he was about to start crying and began apologizing profusely.

"You did something?!" I roared into the speaker. I ignored the looks I got from the classroom who's door was open.

"Mr. Cullen!" Fuck. Not the time. I ignored him too.

I had to get to my girl.

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**Leave me love that will help me forget the fact that they wiped all my pics of Rob...**


	23. Her Note

**Thank you for all of your reviews!**

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My feet slapped loudly against the linoleum floors as I ran to the bathroom. Some random ass teacher was still following but I know that there were two quick turns that I could take that would land me in the math wing bathrooms without Mr. Asshat finding me. I made the quick right and then headed around the short divider wall, and then I stood at the door to the girls and boys bathrooms.

Question is, which bathroom would they have gone into. "Mr. Cullen!" Didn't this jackass have a class to tend to? I slipped into the ladies bathroom and shut the door quickly behind me. The bathroom was silent so I knew Bella wasn't in there. Why would this fucker take her into the boys' bathroom?

Dumbass.

I waited for the footsteps to move away from the door before heading back into the hall. I pushed open the door to the boys bathroom and it was silent.

What the fuck? This better not be a fucking trick, because that shit isn't funny. I left the bathroom and jiggled the door knob to the familial bathroom between the boys and girls. Why there was a familial bathroom in Forks High? I'd never know. Teachers couldn't bring their kids and any really unlucky students couldn't bring theirs either. So what was the point of it?

I shook my head because I was getting off track. The knob was locked and I knocked twice.

"Emmett?" It unlocked almost immediately and I gasped at the sight of Bella curled up by the sink. She sat fetal position, her arms wrapped around her legs and her fists so tightly clenched I thought she would break her hands. She didn't look up at me as I stepped in and shut the door behind me. Her eyes were fixed on the wall in front of her as she sobbed.

"Dude, I don't know what to do!" He said, staring wide eyed at her. "She won't say anything to me…" My chest tightened as I watched her shoulders shake. She looked small, so broken because of Emmett.

"Well what the fuck did you do, ass?!" I asked getting on my knees next to her. Somewhere in my mind I knew that Emmett didn't do anything. Bella had told me as much, he wouldn't trigger anything for her. Only one person would.

"Did you see Hunter today?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows as I looked at Emmett over my shoulder. He shrugged and Bella whimpered. My head whipped back to her and her wide terrified eyes locked on mine. "You did?"

"Edward…" She whispered, I moved her hands from around her knees, holding one tightly. "In the hall." Her beautiful wide eyes were brimming with tears as she looked at me and I frowned. Her hand shook in mine and she pulled it away, taking her thumb to her lip and biting her fingernail. My heart fell as she shut me down. But it wasn't about me. Bella gave me her other hand which was fisted tightly.

"What the hell does James have to do with anything?!" Emmett asked from his little corner where he held his own little freak out session. I ignored him and slipped my thumbs under Bella's clenched fingers, trying to get her to relax. Her hand opened and a small white slip of paper fell into my hand.

_Miss me? I'm glad you're back._

The tiny note wasn't signed but it was more than obvious who it was from. My eyes trailed over the small black ink and with every pass over it I saw more and more red. I put that shit into my back pocket and shook my head at Bella.

"Ignore that fucker. He won't be bothering you again." She gave me a look that told me I said that last time. But last time she didn't want me to touch that fuck. This time it was different.

"Who James?" Emmett asked, pacing in his corner. I nodded and sat down in front of Bella, pushing her hair out of her face. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at me and I pulled her arms around my neck. She helped me, giving that extra push so that she sat in my lap. I ran my fingers through her hair and her hands clutched at my jacket as she buried her face in my shoulder.

"It's okay, baby. I've got you." I said softly into her ear, kissing her hair.

"Uh… What the hell?" Emmett coughed from behind us. Why was he still here?

"Edward, I'm scared now." She cried, her body wracking with sobs.

"I've got you." I repeated. I wouldn't let that fucker anywhere near her… And I think he knew that.

"He has been following me." She murmured, looking up at me and wiping at her eyes. "I didn't want to tell you because I knew you would freak out. But Edward, I've seen him around, more recently." Which proved my theory. That asshole waited for Bella and I to separate before he made his move. "You were right." Emmett came and sat down about a foot away from us, leaning in to hear her.

"What are you guys talking about? What's going on?" He was still nervous as fuck, wringing his hands and shit in front of him. "In Psychology they said that the longest a panic attack could ever last is twelve minutes-" I looked down at Bella who was beginning to hyperventilate. "It's been ten." I looked at my phone which told me it'd only been five minutes since he called.

"Why the hell did you wait so long to call me?!"

"She wasn't breathing enough to talk at first! And why the fuck would I call you for help?" He growled and Bella tugged at my jacket.

"Just tell me what the fuck is going on, Edward!" I grinded my teeth at his rude as fuck tone and shook my head.

"Hunter is stalking Bella." I reached behind myself and grabbed the note from my pocket, handing it to him. He read over it and lifted an eyebrow.

"Dude! I did see James! He was the one that bumped her! He would've knocked Bella down if I hadn't been there." He shook his head and I turned my eyes to the ceiling.

"James was waiting for you to be away from me. I fucking knew it." I hissed through clenched teeth. That motherfucker was in for it now. Who the fuck goes out of their way to prey on people like Bella?

"Where did she know Hunter from?" I shook my head and mouthed 'later' to him over Bella's head.

"I should have listened to you." She cried, I tightened my arms around her and placed a kiss on her warm neck. She shook violently in my arms and I felt like shit for not being there when she needed me. Mad or not, I knew that James was being a prick and should have been at her side.

"Bella, you didn't do anything, honey." She sure as hell couldn't have known what her stalker was going to do. I turned to Emmett and he lifted an eyebrow at me. "We need to talk later." Bella sniffled and both of us turned back to her.

"Do you need us to take you to the hospital? Or like… the guidance counselor?" Emmett asked. I gave him a look that clearly said 'shut up' and he shrugged. "I'm just saying… Maybe the bathroom isn't the best place to do this…"

"Emmett, stop." I huffed, shaking my head at him.

"I'm sorry." Bella gasped, straightening up in my lap. She grabbed my cheeks and began pressing kisses to and around my mouth. "I'm so, so sorry!"

"For what?" I asked casting a wary glance toward Emmett who sat staring at us in complete shock. Even though Rosalie and I had been caught, he still didn't know about my Bella and me.

"For everything! For being such a bitch-"

"You aren't a bitch." I cut that shit short. "Don't call yourself that."

"You didn't give a crap about all of this- stood by my side. And I freaking flipped when you told me about the girls!" I shook my head and leaned down to kiss her again. At this point I could care less about Emmett sitting there, looking dumbstruck. I had my girl talking to me again, and that was all that mattered. "I'm so sorry!" She cried and I shook my head, swiping away a tear with my thumb.

"I can understand why you'd be mad. I should have told you before-"

"I wasn't mad at you…" She whispered. "I was concerned- worried about what that meant in terms of us. It was stupid, but I just didn't know how to deal with it."

"Woah… What's going on here?!" I expected it to come from Emmett but with a glance at the door I found it to be Mrs. Cope. "Ms. Cullen, are you alright?" She asked, eyeing the girl in my lap. All three of us nodded and Bella wiped the last of her tears away. "Good, then I think it's time you all visit my office. You know these facilities are not for student use."

"And why is that, Jackie? We are family after all." I said, lifting an eyebrow at the principle that flushed a bright red.

"Especially not to be used by you, Edward. Mr. Lawson said you were screaming obscenities in the hall and then ran from him?"

"So? It's not like I was resisting arrest. And I wasn't running from him." I rolled my eyes and helped Bella to her feet before standing myself. "I had more pressing matters to attend to, Ms. Cope." I said, picking up Bella's hand in mine and squeezing it gently. She slid her fingers through mine and clasped my hand tightly.

"And I'm sure you'll be delighted to share those pressing matters with me in my office." She lifted her eyebrows and then pushed her glasses up her nose.

"Of course, Mrs. Cope." I smiled tersely and Bella squeezed my hand. My gaze trailed down to our interlocked fingers before looking to Emmett. He stared at our hands too, eyes wide- horrified even. As we followed Cope out of the bathroom and into the hall Emmett fell into step with me.

"Wha-"

"I'll tell you everything later." I said, casting a glance at Bella who stared warily at me. "If it's alright with Bella?" Her eyes widened and she shrugged. "And you have to listen to… _everything._ We have to talk about Hale too." A harshness fell over his face at my mention of his Ex and he rolled his eyes before nodding.

"Speaking of her, what happened in the parking lot?" Bella asked, trying to catch her breath as she dabbed at her eyes.

"I scratched her car. Minor damage." Really minor. As in microscopic. I looked to Emmett who had his eyes locked forward and his jaw clenched. He was trying to act like he didn't care about what happened to her. It was obvious that he did. I knew he had strong feelings for Rose and I was really sorry that things worked out the way they did.

"But she's okay." Bella's head shot up and I darted my eyes to Emmett who visibly relaxed. "And I need to tell you about the words we had…" I said, giving Bella's hand a squeeze as I looked down at her. She nodded and lifted an eyebrow.

"Edward? Emmett?" Bella whispered and we looked down at her. "Please don't tell Mrs. Cope about the note… or James…"

"No, that's something we'll work out on our own." Emmett said with fire, like I had never seen, in his eyes. He lifted an eyebrow asking me if that's what I had meant in the bathroom. I smiled and gave him an affirmative nod, happy to have him on our side. Despite all of the shit in the past three days he was willing to not only sit and listen to what I had to say, but was also willing to help me. For Bella, that is.

It never hurt to have a six foot three, wall of muscle at your side.

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	24. My Explanation

Our little meeting with Cope hadn't ended up quite as well as I had hoped it would. Emmett and I had gotten lunch detentions for the next day, but she'd let Bella off. When I asked why, Bella glared and Cope spouted off some shit about being a first time offender. Which was the worst possible thing she could have done. We made arrangements to meet up at the house after Cope dismissed us.

"I have baseball at five today..." Emmett said before looking up at Bella and me.

"So we'll just have to get straight home." I shrugged and they both nodded.

"I'm going to head home with Edward." Bella said frowning up at me. Ah man, what did I do now...? I smiled though as I realized that this must be what it's like to be in a real relationship. Now that Bella and I had proverbially 'come out' we could do that. My sweet Bella could finally be my sweet girlfriend. "Come on, Edward..." She said before pulling me away from Emmett and into a large crowd. Why were we always fighting to get through the hustle and bustling students? It seemed like no matter where we went the rest of the student body was always going the opposite way.

"'Why doesn't she have lunch DT too?!'" She huffed, mocking me as she marched out ahead of me and I couldn't help but feel happy. Despite the earlier events there was a sense of normalcy about us. But I followed my girl out of the school knowing full damn well I would follow her anywhere.

I chuckled and picked up my pace a little, touching her arm. "Bella, Emmett and I will be in detention. There won't be anyone out here with you." I explained as we reached the car. I unlocked it for her and we both threw our bags in the backseat before getting in.

She pursed her lips and frowned up at me as I started the car. I lifted an eyebrow and wracked my brain for a solution. Bella had pretty much only talked to Emmett and I, as far as I knew. Then there was Rosalie, who wasn't even an option. Then it hit me.

"_Well anyway, I have a feeling that we should be friends."_

Angela!

I could bring it up to her and see what she thought. She and Jasper usually just hung out with me and smoked or went to the diner. I could probably convince them to take her to Ange's house… And not to smoke. It might be a little hypocritical, but I did _not_ want Bella around that stuff. And I wanted my friends to be as alert as possible.

"How would you feel about spending lunch with Ange and Jazz?" I asked, sliding out of my parking space at Emmett's impatient honk.

"I don't know Jasper that well…" I bit the inside of my cheek and silently cursed. Jasper fit the profile for a guy that would trigger her. Tall, thin, blonde and blue eyes… And long ass hair that really should have been taken up a few inches. "But hey, when is a better time to get to know him better." She shook her head. "But Edward, I do know people here… I'm not a recluse."

"You know people?" She nodded and narrowed her eyes. Oh damn I've done it again.

"Edward, I go to school just like you. Almost every class I have has a table where you have to sit with one other person. It's kind of strange but hey, I've got to meet new people."

"Like who?"

"Oh no…" She waved her finger at me. "I'm not telling you so that you can judge me."

"I'm not going to judge you."

"Says the guy who has two friends, because apparently the 'pretty people' group is extremely exclusive and picky." She rolled her eyes.

"'Pretty people' how unoriginal and completely incorrect." I wrinkled my nose and stopped at the stop light before looking over at her. Her brown eyes were unconvinced as she stared at me. "What?"

"Edward. Stop. You have to know that your group includes "two of the hottest guys in school and a girl who isn't anything to scoff at". And believe it or not, those are not my words." She raised her eyebrows as if her words made her argument valid. That was ridiculous. Hey, I knew I was hot and Jasper and Ange weren't complete trolls but… 'Pretty People?'

Lame.

"And you've got like every type of person in that group. The hot bad boy," She bumped my elbow with hers and pointed to the now green light. "That would be you. The stoner who's still pretty hot and then the quiet girl who could model if she chose to." I held up a hand.

"You think Jasper's hot?"

"Well I'd be lying if I said no, but I think you're much cuter." She rose up and kissed my cheek. I pursed my lips and pulled up in front of our house. "But you've managed to get me off track." She gasped, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"You didn't answer my question, either! You just talked about how hot you think Jazz is." I bitched and she rolled her eyes.

"I've met Mike Newton," I wrinkled my nose, "Tyler Crowley, Angela is pretty cool… Katie is in my Calc class. They're all nice and they sit together at lunch, well except for Angela." They were all friends from the Drama program at Forks High. They weren't popular assholes or complete losers… Not to say that I'd have a problem with her hanging out with the other two. I was happy she'd met people she liked. They seemed to be a lot like her, nice… Well I guess that's all I really knew about them.

"And you would be okay eating with them?"

"I've done it before, Edward." She sighed, heading up the walkway.

"Okay, okay," I backed off because I was being a little bit of an ass. I knew that, but I just wanted her to be okay and comfortable. I picked up my pace and took her hand holding her back a little until I was able to catch up. "I'm sorry." I slung an arm over her shoulder and kissed the apple of her cheek.

"You're fine, I get where you're coming from. I just- I can take care of myself." She looked up at me her brown eyes begging me to understand.

"I know you can…" The sound of tired rolling down the street made us separate on instinct. I gave her a sheepish smile and she chuckled before picking up my hand and moving toward me again. When I looked up I lifted an eyebrow. I guess I hadn't noticed that Emmett wasn't already here, but how the hell did he get so far behind?

"Do you think he'll tell Carlisle and Esme?" She whispered, squeezing my hand in hers.

"I don't know if it'll be _him…_ But maybe it's time they know?" With the threat of Rosalie looming over my head I knew it'd be best to tell our parents first. I had no clue about how they'd react, but hopefully it wouldn't be too harsh.

"You think that's a good idea?"

"Well if this is going to go anywhere? They'll have to know." She bit her lip and her eyes lit up as she looked at me.

"Going anywhere? Like… past high school?" My eyes widened at my little slip up and I shook my head. I definitely didn't want to pressure her. I wanted nothing more than to spend every day to come, with her.

"Uh-"

"Let's get inside!" Emmett urged, standing on the runners of his car as he waved us inside. "We have a little under an hour and a half and I have a feeling there's a lot to talk about." I nodded and pulled out my keys, unlocking the door for my Bella.

"Wait, what do you mean by going anywhere if you don't think this will last past high school?" Bella asked, walking past me into the house. She spun and walked backwards as she took off her backpack, waiting for an answer.

I had never felt this way before. Not just the way I felt in that moment, but since I've met Bella. It's like my world has been turned on its axis. And there in the center of everything was Bella. My sweet, beautiful, selfless Bella.

And as corny as it sounds, she was my everything.

"I don't want be weird, Bella. But I really want this to go on past high school." I picked up her hand and pulled her into me. The beautiful smile that I had missed all day lit up the hall. I placed my hand against hers and brought it up between us. "I've never felt the way I feel about you… with anyone. Ever." I smiled and watched her as she watched our fingers interlock.

"Edward, I-"

"What the hell, guys? Am I going to have to heard you to the table?!" Emmett boomed from behind me. Bella's eyes snapped up over my shoulder and she scowled.

"We're going, Em…" She squeezed my hand and pulled away, heading to the kitchen. I watched her go before turning to Emmett.

"What the hell, man? Could you not be a dick?" I asked, throwing out my hands. He dropped his bag and rolled his eyes. What the hell was his problem?

"Don't think that we're cool now because you helped Bella out. I know we talked in the hall, but I'm still really fucking pissed at you. You're lucky I'm talking to you at all." He said, pushing past me and striding into the kitchen.

"I know that!" I said following after him. His face was stony as he pulled out the chair next to Bella and fell into it. I deposited my backpack on the floor at my feet as I took a seat too.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"At the beginning." Emmett retorted, Bella nudged Emmett with her elbow and shook her head at him. He sighed and turned back to me. "Start with Rose."

"Rosalie and I slept together the day you became 'Facebook Official'." I used air quotes and his jaw flexed as he crossed his meaty arms over his chest. "It was after school on a Friday? And we… you know-" They both winced and furrowed their eyebrows. "And she left, said she had an appointment."

"With me, I fucking took her to dinner."

"Yeah, well, I checked Facebook around midnight and it said you two were in a relationship." I shrugged and sat back in my chair. "I don't know if you'll believe me or not, but I wouldn't have done that if I knew you guys were together…"

"What the fuck? We went on like… six dates before I officially asked her out!"

"Dude, I swear I didn't know. Trust me, when I found out I was just as mad as you."

"Why? Did you like her?" Bella asked softly, looking at me beneath her eyelashes. I shot up in my chair, shaking my head.

"No. No! I was pissed that she cheated on Emmett, official or not. And with me no less." I patted my chest.

His gaze was skeptical. "You didn't do it to spite me or anything?"

"Dude, I don't do spite. If I was pissed at you, you would have known. I don't do that behind the back thing."

"Yet, you kept this from me." He said pointing at himself.

Bella nodded, "Me too."

"Okay, when we're done with this, you need to explain… that." He gestured between Bella and me.

"I kept it from you because I didn't want to hurt you." I sighed, gesturing to Emmett. I turned to look at Bella, "And I'm not going to lie, I didn't really think you would care; it was before I met you and before I knew that you and Rose would become mortal enemies."

"We're not enemies." She rolled her eyes.

Emmett flexed his jaw and groaned. "Well I'm still pissed." But he was talking to me, and that's what really mattered. I was never gunning to be best friends, but I really didn't want Emmett to hate me. So I shrugged, I could accept his anger. "But I'll let it go for now. I want to hear about this…" He waved between Bella and I again and I sighed.

"We're dating." Bella blurted from his side. Emmett lifted an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest. But besides that he didn't acknowledge the fact that Bella had spoken; so the three of us waited in silence as he stared at me.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Well I guess we did a hell of a job keeping you two away from each other." He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm not going to lie though. This is some weird ass shit. You guys like…" He lifted up his hands and when I thought he was going to start sliding his finger in and out of his fist, I spoke up.

"_Kiss_? Yeah." He heaved a relieved sigh and wrinkled his nose. Meanwhile, Bella crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow at me.

"That's _all_ we do." She confirmed in a way that told me she still wasn't okay with that. I blushed and Emmett shook his head, pushing away from the table.

"Oh no… I can't do this whole fucking siblings thing…" He winced.

Bella craned her neck to look at him as he stood. "We aren't related! Or fucking." Cure glare at me.

"This is like some kind of 1860 shit-" He held up his hands, his blue eyes darting from me to Bella and back. His expression was almost laughable. "That's like me screwing you!" He gasped pointing at me like the idiot I knew and tolerated.

"Uh, it's totally different." I shook my head, lifting an eyebrow. "Anyway, you see Bella as a sister, I don't." I pointed at his empty seat. "Will you sit?" Bella touched his hand and he gave her a reluctant look before sitting.

"Okay so moving past that weird- Wait, mom and dad don't know?" He asked holding out a hand.

"No, nor will they." I said quickly and Bella frowned before nodding. I turned to Bella and picked up her hand in mine. "But now that he knows, we don't have to hide it at school." I smiled encouragingly and she nodded.

"It's like kissing cousins…" Emmett whispered to himself, earning a glare from both Bella and myself. "Okay, sorry. _Now_ explain to me why we're going to be kicking Hunter's ass for giving Bella a note." Bella then launched into her story, with my help on the particularly difficult parts. I gave her an encouraging smile and extended my hand to her as she spoke.

"So… Hunter is the guy who…" Emmett's fists clenched on the table and the vein in his forehead looked like it was going to explode.

"Assaulted me. Yes." She nodded and I breathed deeply. Having two overly upset guys in the room with her most likely wouldn't do Bella any good. So I left that position to Emmett. After he finished raging and growling he snapped at me.

"And why the fuck haven't you done anything?! You've known!"

"I asked him not to- and guys, I know I was pretty shaken up earlier, but all I want you to do is stay by my side. Please don't do anything that will get you in trouble." She clasped her hands as she begged and I groaned.

"Bella, he's just going to keep fucking with you until I slam his head into a brick wall." I told her softly.

"Yes, but a note won't kill me-"

"Send you into shock, maybe-" Emmett hissed under his breath.

"I'm sorry about that! I really am. But I really don't want you two getting screwed because of me." When Emmett wouldn't meet her pleading eyes she looked to me. I huffed before nodding, once again agreeing to her bogus wishes.


	25. Her Lunch With the Locals

Lunch proved to be quite interesting without Emmett and Edward. I had ended up eating with Angela and Jasper, despite my protests to hang out with the local thespians. Edward asked them to meet us in the cafeteria for drop off.  
Yeah.  
Drop off.  
Meanwhile I was sure that Emmett was following us about ten steps behind, watching everything. No one dared bump me or accidentally run into me with my large 'brothers' at my side. I sighed and entwined my fingers with Edward's as he lead me to the meeting site.  
"As much as I love having you here with me…" I smiled shyly at the passing teenager that gave me a shocked look. Apparently people weren't pleasant to each other here… "I think I can make my way down to the cafeteria."  
"Oh, it's not a problem-" He didn't catch my drift. "I need to get lunch there anyway before detention." He said as his eyes scanned intensely over the crowd ahead. I turned to see Emmett glancing over his shoulder, checking out the people coming from the opposite direction.  
"Okay, but you don't have to go all secret agent on me. We've already established the fact that he won't mess with me with you around. Relax." I laid a hand on his bicep and he flexed making me chuckle. He turned and smiled down at me before kissing my temple.  
I was happily surprised at how open Edward was with me at school. I had, sadly, assumed we'd still keep things under wraps, but instead he seemed almost giddy about displaying our relationship. And of course, that was just fine with me.  
Emmett gagged loudly behind us and we turned to see him pretending to choke. But he was too far away from us for anyone else to know that the gesture was meant for Edward and me. Em hadn't been as accepting as Edward was. He was still a little freaked out at the whole concept of his brother and his sister dating. And if any of us were biologically related I would understand, I would even understand if I had known him and Edward for as long as they've been brothers. But we weren't related and I had known him for less than half of a year…  
Edward turned back to me and rolled his eyes before taking in my chin and kissing me chastely. I grinned up at him and he laughed before looking back at Emmett who looked like he was going into anaphylactic shock. We laughed all the way to the cafeteria where Jasper and Angela stood stoically, side by side.  
We stopped about three feet short of them and Edward's smile faded. "Oh god, they're gonna' get weird." He sighed. I shrugged and stepped forward, holding out a hand to Jasper. They both looked at it before he stepped forward and lifted it to his lips. He smirked and winked at me before kissing my knuckles.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you." He said smoothly and I giggled. He jerked back a moment later after Edward shoved his shoulder.  
"Dude."  
"Man, I'm just tryin' to spread the love." Jasper widened his arms and gave me a serene smile. "May I just say, Bella, you are much prettier than Edward made you out to be." I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult so I furrowed my eyebrows with a wary smile.  
"Thank you?" I looked up to Edward who was scowling at his friend.  
"Come on, man." Edward sighed.  
"Hey, she said I was hot. And I am. So I just wanted to return the favor and say she was hot. Which you are." The last sentence was directed at me. I blushed and thanked him sincerely this time. That was before the first part of the statement clicked. I slowly turned to Edward, eyebrows raised.  
"You told him I said he was hot?" Edward shrugged, his eyes wide.  
"We're best friends, Bella, we don't keep secrets." Angela spoke, addressing me but staring at Edward pointedly. Jasper stepped back and slung an arm around her shoulder.  
"It's alright, Ange. We still have each other." I didn't know they were dating… Huh, that seems like something Edward would have told me before leaving me to third-wheel-it. I quickly learned my assumption was wrong though as Angela stepped to the side and glared at him. "What did I say about touching me?"  
"Not to." He said shortly, with a prompt nod.  
"I promise, they aren't always this weird." Edward sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Maybe you should sit with your other friends-" He looked over to the corner where Mike, Tyler and Katie sat, then there was Eric from my French class, but he was a little strange. The group, along with a few others, seemed to really be enjoying themselves as they laughed loudly in the corner.  
"Edward, I'll be fine." He really did worry too much. "It'll be fun." I looked back to Angela who was still emotionless and Jasper who wiggled his eyebrows. Edward gave his friends a long look before shaking his head.  
"Once they warm up to you they'll still be strange, but not this strange. I swear-" I put a hand on his arm to stop him.  
"I believe you, now go."  
"Yeah, Edward, go on, we've got it from here." Jasper smiled as he stepped up and looped an arm through mine. I patted Edward's stomach and smiled at him.  
"Go, before you're late." I pointed at Emmett who appeared to be aimlessly meandering around the same two foot area. "You too! We don't want them putting you away again tomorrow." He nodded and Edward kissed my cheek before they both headed to the cafeteria line. When Edward was out of earshot Jasper began laughing and a smile tugged at Angela's lips.  
"He's right, we aren't all that weird. We just wanted to fuck with him." She bumped my shoulder playfully before moving to stand in front of Jasper and I. "But now is when you give us the chance to prove our normalness! What would you like to do for lunch today?" She asked.  
"Guys, please don't feel like you have to babysit, or impress me, I just want to do whatever you guys do on a regular day." I shrugged as we made our way out of the cafeteria.  
And that would be how I found myself sitting around in Jasper's room watching the two of them pass around a bong and a bag of Doritos.  
Jasper's room was covered wall-to-wall in posters and pictures. There were posters of cars and bands and even scantily clad women, and a large door sized kitten poster on the back of his door. In the spots where the posters didn't quite match up there were pictures of, who I assumed was, his family and then a lot of pictures of Angela and Edward.  
I carried around the bag of chips as I went along the wall. It seemed like the pictures were in chronological order as you walked from the right side of his door, around the room, to the left side of his door. It was hilarious to go along and see how much each of them changed. Apparently my sweet Edward was a complete pizza face in his late middle school, early high school years. Angela and Jasper both had braces in a few pictures and then in about twenty or so Jasper had a mustache.  
"I mustache you a question." I said with a snort before collapsing into laughter. Oh my god, I was so much funnier than I thought I was… Did that make sense? I don't know…  
I must have forgotten to mention that I took a hit or four of the bong myself. I didn't think I had done it right at first. But I must have because I felt good. And funny. And really hungry.  
"What?" Jasper asked as he stretched out across his bed.  
"You had a mustache?" I laughed, trailing a finger over the blonde and red tuft of hair on his lip in the pictures. Angela joined me at the wall, sliding to me in her rolling chair.  
"Isn't that the ugliest thing you've ever seen?" She laughed, slapping Jasper's foot as he pushed her chair.  
"It wouldn't grow out to be the same color…" He pouted from the bed. "I dunno why…" I nodded and moved back towards the door where the middle school pictures were. I chuckled at the pictures of them at school, making funny faces. As I moved on and looked in closer, something was off about the pictures. In my elevated state it took me quite a while to realize that my favorite pair of green eyes seemed flat in all of the pictures. No matter how wide or smile, his beautiful eyes were still just as lifeless as the next picture.  
"Why does Edward look so…?" I tapped the picture, at a loss for words.  
"Sad?" I nodded and Angela shrugged.  
"He was super depressed like, all through middle school and, well, pretty much until this year. You know, his parents died and he had like no other family, so that's probably why."  
"Wow, Ange! What impressive insight you have!" Jasper mocked from the bed, pushing up onto his forearms. "That's exactly why he was all depressed. That and his friend that he had back in whatever foster home that he talked about forever."  
"Forever?" I asked quietly.  
He nodded and laughed, "Yeah, you better hope she doesn't come back, because my man was madly in love with this chick. You would have no chance in hell." He shook his head and kicked Angela's chair again. "Hell, I guess we wouldn't either." Angela shrugged and nodded as she bent down to look at a low picture.  
"Madly in love?" I choked out, before clearing my throat.  
"Man, you have no clue! She was all he talked about for like the first few years, then she was moved away or some shit and he couldn't find her." Jasper pursed his lips sadly and shook his head. Meanwhile, Angela sat in her chair glaring at her friend.  
"Why don't you just go ahead and tell her all of Edward's business? You talk way too much when stoned." She shook her head and spun her chair in circles. "No offense to you, Bella. It's just, we don't know what he has told you."  
"And it's his story to tell!" Jasper boasted before kicking up his legs to bring him enough momentum to sit up on the bed.  
"That's right, Jasper!" She patronized with a roll of her eyes. "Would you like a cookie?"  
"Yes. Oh man, I want one! Hey, we should go to the diner. " Jasper said as his head lolled back and forth. "Now you can really see what our lunch period is like. We have cut back on our smoking around Edward, cause he doesn't do it during school hours. He gets super freaked about possibly getting caught." I laughed and so did they, despite the fact that what Jasper had said had no comedic value, whatsoever.  
"Once again, Jasper, Edward's story." She nodded before grabbing his hand and pulling him to stand. She grabbed a small spray can from Jasper's desk and sprayed Jasper down with it. I was assaulted with the strong smell of canned boy as she saturated him with the stuff.  
"You're next!" She said happily, "You don't smell horrible, just a little weed-ish." She shrugged and sprayed me down too, even getting some in my hair. But I was completely fine with that because I smelled like clean, cute boy.  
I wondered if that was what Edward showered with.  
"Thanks for this, guys, I had fun." I giggled as Angela handed me my jacket.  
"Oh the lunch isn't over yet! We still have to go to the diner and then it's back to school." I nodded and floated out of the door behind the two of my new friends. I should've been hanging out with them a long time ago…  
"Edward is going to kill you." Angela muttered from the front seat as Jazz slid into the passenger seat.  
"Why me?"  
"You got his girlfriend stoned. And this seems like a particularly bad time to do that…" She groaned starting Jasper's car and heading to the diner.  
"I would like to think that this was a group effort. Right Bella?" I chuckled because let's be honest, Jasper should be a comedian.  
"Sure." Angela parked and we all got out before sauntering into the dinner. A pretty blonde girl greeted us from behind a long counter and pointed us to an empty booth.  
"Thanks, Emily." Jasper waved and she smiled with a shake of her head. Angela elbowed him and shook her head as we took our seats. I picked up my menu and sighed at the many pictures of French fries.  
"Oh god, I want fries…" I moaned, resting my elbow on the table and my chin in the palm of my hand.  
"Me too, Breezy-" I barked out a laugh and Angela rolled her eyes and ordered for Jasper and I as we laughed. We quickly received and finished our meal before heading back to the school. When we pulled up Edward and Emmett were standing by the front doors. I smiled at the sight of my handsome beau and sighed as Ange parked.  
"Now, Bella. We don't mention weed in front of Edward okay?" Jazz laughed as he turned to look over his shoulder.  
"I can do that. I'm not four you know…"  
Angela rolled her eyes. "Well good luck trying to keep it a secret. Your pupils are the size of a penny and you're as loopy as a cheerio."  
Jasper twirled his finger and furrowed his eyebrows. "There's only one loop in a cheerio…?" I laughed and pushed my door open, almost falling out of the car in the process.  
"Dear god, Beezy. Pull yourself together!" Jasper laughed, jumping out and steadying me. I chuckled and pursed my lips to quell the chuckles.  
"Hey," Edward smiled brightly at me and I was almost blinded by the whiteness of his teeth. Everything about him was just so…  
Pretty.  
And white.  
He grabbed my hand and I used it to pull him towards me. "Hi." I pressed a kiss to his lips and I felt his smile drop against my lips. He cupped my cheek and pushed me back. His eyes were narrowed as he looked to his friends.  
"Did you get her high?!" Edward hissed as he pulled my bottom eyelid down to check my pupils. I smiled at him because he was so gorgeous, all hard lines and beautiful features.  
"We didn't get her high. We just offered and she accepted."  
"We… as in him." Angela pointed to Jasper who waved and laughed.  
"Remember what I was telling you, about being able to take care of myself?" We were all adults here. "That goes for now too." I kissed his cheek and tried to shake myself out of my giddy fog as we entered the school.  
"Bella, you can't go to class like this." He whispered, holding me back. I rolled my eyes and waved him off. Hell, I felt good there was no way I was going home now.  
"Okay." I nodded, slipping out of his grip before floating into Calculus.  
**-**  
**Well, I am very sorry for the wait...**

A little news...

**I had surgery yesterday so getting ready for that took a bit of time...**  
**But it's over now, and it's my birthday!**  
**So I'll leave you all with this and hope someone is still with me!**


	26. Our Family Dinner

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! They mean a lot to me!**

"So, Rosalie called the other day." Dad said as he cut into his steak. His eyes went to Emmett before cutting to me. My back tensed at his gaze and a small foot brushed against my calf, encouraging me to exhale.

"Is that so?" Esme slowly dragged her gaze across the table before settling on me.

"What would she possibly have to talk to you about?" Emmett asked around a mouthful of pulverized food. I stared down at my plate as I pushed around my mashed potatoes.

Once again I forgot to tell Emmett and Bella about Rosalie's threat. Fuck.

Bella cast a curious glance my way and I ground my teeth. "Is there something going on here that one of you wants to tell me about?" I met all of the eyes that hadn't left me be with a questioning glare.

"Well we know that the controversy with her was about you..." Dad said, stabbing a piece of meat on his plate. "So I just kind of assumed. My apologies." The room went silent except for the sounds of silverware hitting plates. Bella tapped my foot with her toe and I looked at her from the corner of my eye. She shook her head and mouthed 'it's okay'. If only she knew how bad it really was.

"How're classes going, Bella?" Mom asked with a hesitant smile.

"Everything is going very well." She answered, all smiles. "I really like all of my teachers."

"That's good."

"Great, great..." The doctors chorused. I stuck a piece of steak in my mouth and chewed quickly, wanting to finish so I could leave.

"Now, boys. Excuse me for bringing this up again... But do you have any clue as to why Rosalie would be calling?" Mom asked with a lifted eyebrow, Emmett shrugged and shook his head. I stayed silently still, hoping she would over look me. "Edward?" I sighed and looked up at her.

"No, sorry." I lied. I fucking hated lying to mom. But it seemed like it was a necessity at the time.

"Well your mother has been offered a surgical position down in San Francisco." Dad blurted before sitting back to gauge our reactions. I dropped my fork as Emmett began choking. Bella chuckled and shook her head as she patted his back.

"Esme! That's great!" Bella beamed, standing to go and hug Esme. Mom smiled unsurely and returned Bella's hug with fervor.

"Thank you, honey." She sighed before casting our dad a worried glance. I pushed my chair back with a sigh.

"Congrats, Mom." I said giving her my signature half smile so that she'd realize I was being sincere. She gave me a relieved smile and kissed my cheek as I hugged her.

"Thanks," she sighed, patting my back before I pulled away. I turned to see Emmett staring wide eyed at Mom, his blue eyes sad.

"So are you moving away?" He asked with a lifted eyebrow. My eyes locked on Esme as I took a seat. I hadn't even really thought about her leaving. But now...

"That's, uh, what Dad and I wanted to talk to you about." She sighed, taking her seat again as she casted a wary look at dad.

"We've got a few options here." I lifted an eyebrow. "Don't give me that look, boys." He said sternly. "Mom could move down, and I could stay with you all to finish out high school." I scowled, not too keen on the thought of losing yet another mother. Then there was Bella, who would be stuck in a house full of guys, two of whom she barely knew. I risked a glance at her and she had on a poker face. "Bella, if you would be uncomfortable here you are welcome to go with her." All eyes were on my cute little Bella as she sat with a fork suspended in the air.

Her eyes darted to mine, wide with fear. I tried to silently convey what I so badly wanted to say. I wasn't going to let us get split up. "I'm fine here." She said slowly, her eyes moving around the table.

"Or I could just wait until you all graduate." Esme said sternly as she lifted an angry eyebrow at dad.

"No need to prolong it, Es! Who knows if it will be there next year?!" He asked setting down his silverware as he leaned forward in his seat.

"It's not next year! It's a few months." She bit. "But we aren't quite sure on what we're going to do. That's why I thought we were going to privately talk about this, dear." Her words were strained and quieted the more she spoke. That was Moms way of saying shut up, the way that dad still didn't quite understand.

"Well you're making a decision that affects us all, Esme!" I winced as his congratulatory mention turned into an attack.

"But we don't know that I'm taking it at all! So why decide on something we don't know will happen?" She asked.

"Because Esme! We have three kids to consider and we need to have a plan!" His voice continued to rise and I heard Bella gulp. I reached out and held her hand beneath the table.

Carlisle and Esme fought like any couple I assumed. But never like this, never in front of us. It was weird to see them throwing passive aggressive jibs across the table.

Mom went silent as she narrowed her eyes. But it wasn't the angry narrow; it was the one meaning she'd start blinking back tears any second now.

"I told you I wouldn't be leaving this family-" Our heads whipped back and forth as they argued, my neck began to ache.

"Well it's not quite looking that way now is it?!" Mom's glassy eyes passed over every face at the table and I frowned.

"There's a better time and place." She whispered, sitting back into her seat as if she were defeated. Anger began to spread through my chest as I watched her wilt.

"I don't see why this isn't fine! It's just the family-" he was almost taunting her and I began feeling sick.

"Will you stop?" Bella whispered, turning to Dad. Her hand shook in mine and it was time for me to intervene.

"What is your problem?" I asked sitting forward looking down the table at Dad. But he didn't look as angry as I expected him to. Instead he looked almost as sad as she did.

"Edward-" Bella squeezed my hand and dad cocked his head glaring at me.

"Edward, this is between your mother and I." He bit out.

"Then why do you need to attack her here?" I asked and mom stood up.

"I'm sorry..." She snatched up her napkin and fled the room. The sound of a fork hitting a plate made us turn to see Dad standing from the table. Emmett shook his head at him and I stood.

"I really doubt she wants to talk to you." Emmett said to him. I tugged a hand through my hair and followed after Mom. She ran up the steps and after I finished admiring her athleticism I went for her.

"Mom?" I called softly, inching open her bedroom door. She sat sniffling at the edge of her bed, wiping at her eyes.

"You go finish dinner, dear." She said in between hiccoughs. I rolled my eyes and knelt down at the side of her legs, touching her shoulder.

"Ignore dad," I advised in a quiet voice. "He's just being an ass." I said, patting her knee.

"He doesn't want me to go..." She sighed, dropping her hands into her lap.

"Well that was a terrible way of going about it. He just looks like a dick."

"Don't call your dad a dick." She pursed her lips but her eyes brightened- she didn't look so sad anymore. I shrugged and she chuckled, swiping at her cheeks.

"Hey, it's the truth." I shrugged before lifting myself up onto the bed next to her. I tossed an arm over her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "What's he so worried about anyway? Once we graduate, he'll just follow you."

"He can't leave the hospital for another five years, it's in his contract. So he's stuck another few years and- everything is just such a mess." She buried her head in her hands, gripping her hair. "Don't be too hard on him. He's got a lot on his plate-"

"And you don't? He had no right to lash out at you like that." I said softly and she shook her head. "But I guess I can hop off… for you." With everything going on I'm sure my fighting with dad wouldn't help anything.

But neither would my telling her about Bella.

"Thank you." She lifted and kissed my cheek with a smile.

"No problem... I love you, mom." She hugged me tighter, sniffling into my shoulder and I sighed. I probably shouldn't have felt badly, but I always felt like I was betraying my real parents. To tell some other woman that I loved her while my mom looked down upon me always felt like some cardinal sin. But as I grew I realized that my mom would love Esme just as much as I do. She'd be grateful that Es stepped in to save me. So would my dad.

And even though I knew that, it was still hard to accept.

"I love you too, honey."

"What was up with you at dinner? When dad brought up Rose?" Emmett asked, pulling up to a stop sign and breezing through it without a care. Meanwhile, Bella was in the back seat flipping the fuck out because she wasn't used to his horrible driving, like yours truly.  
"What do you think Rose wants to talk to them about?" I asked, picking at the tip of my fingernail. I looked up at Em again and saw him focusing so hard that he looked like he was going to explode.  
"Dude, don't overload on the thinking!" I warned, throwing up my hands and Bella gasped.  
"Shut up, asshat." He growled, rubbing his forehead nonchalantly. Didn't I tell you he'd hurt himself? I did.  
Bella lurched forward in her seat and grabbed my shoulder. "She saw!" She gasped, shaking my arm. I put a hand over hers and turned to see her better.  
"Saw what?" Emmett asked as he pulled up to park at the diner. I cast a glance at the building to see Emily moving around quickly.  
"This isn't the ice cream shop." I pointed out, you know, just in case they missed it.  
"We said we were getting dessert not ice cream." Emmett shrugged. "But finish; what'd Rose see?" He looked to Bella. Emily caught sight of us standing outside and bounced over to the door, pushing it open.  
"Well if it isn't my favorite Cullens!" She beamed, locking eyes with me. I felt Bella nudge my arm and turned to her. "What are you all doin' out there? Come on in!" She grinned and I caught a glimpse of that pretty girl I knew in high school. Emmett patted my shoulder before passing me and Bella was on his heels. He turned to look down at my girl for a second, clearly asking more about what Rose knew and I hurried to catch up.

"New member of the crew?" Emily asked when I reached the door.

"Crew?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow. She nodded and pointed to Bella.

"The kids you always eat here with? They were with her the other day too." She observed, writing down something on a notepad.

"Well, I guess... She's my girlfriend so." I kind of blurted stupidly. Emily lifted an eyebrow and glared at me.

"I thought Edward Cullen didn't do relationships!" She said, putting a hand on her hip.

I held up my hands, "Not as a freshman! Hell not even last year! But Emily, please don't make a scene." I pleaded putting a hand on her bicep. She scowled and marched ahead of me to my table. I let out a heavy sigh before slipping into the booth next to Bella.

"What was that?" She asked softly, her brown eyes shining with curiosity.

"Old friend." I said with a stiff smile.

Emmett snorted and laughed. "Old _hot_ friend! I would have given anything to hit that back when she was in high school." I let out an uncomfortable laugh and Bella put a hand on my knee. When I met her eyes they told me that she wasn't judging, and that her questions were answered.

"I'm sure." She chuckled and Emily made her way back to our table, her normally pretty face marred with a sneer.

"Hi, my name is Emily; I'll be your server. Can I start you off with drinks?" She asked Bella with an intimidating glare. I cleared my throat loudly and she turned her narrowed eyes my way.

"I think we'll just have some of your famous apple pie." Emmett said from the opposite side of the table. When she looked at him he held up three fingers.

"I can do that for you." She winked at him and he smiled, flashing his dimples. When she turned to leave he leaned forward and slapped the table. His eyes shone with victory as he smirked.

"Hell, she can do anything for me." He laughed boisterously and I couldn't help but laugh with him. Bella snickered next to me and picked up her vibrating phone.

"Jasper said that he, Alice and Angela were going to join us." She wrinkled her nose and looked around the diner. A honk made all three of us look up at the window to see the three of them jumping out if Jazz's car. "Who's Alice?" She asked and Emmett pressed his finger against the window, pointing to the petite girl attached to Jasper.

"You have Jasper's number?" I asked, like an asshole. Bella nodded and she and Emmett watched them enter the diner.

"Hey, guys." Bella beamed as Angela shoved her self into the booth next to me. Jasper motioned for Emmett to scoot over until he and Bella sat next to each other.

"What's up, B?" Jazz asked leaning over to playfully punch her shoulder. Bella waved him off and waved at Alice.

"Hi, Alice! I'm Bella." She said. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too." She nodded before picking up a menu. Emily came back with three slices of pie and her eyes widened.

"Um, hey guys..." She slid a slice of pie to Em, Bella and I before pulling out a note pad. After they finished ordering she nodded and ripped off the sheet she'd been writing on. She folded it and slid it to Emmett before strutting away.

"What the heck?" Bella peeked over Emmett's shoulder before giving an appreciative nod.

"Digits!" Bella sang adorably, plucking the paper from Em's fingers before sidling up under my arm. I chuckled at her and kissed her temple.

"Emmett, I can see the look in your eyes." Bella read in a dramatic tone. "Pick me up at nine."

"Eyes and nine... That doesn't rhyme." Jasper said before Alice began to snap as she nodded.

"It's unconventional." She sighed with a smile.

"Maybe it wasn't supposed to be a poem..."

"If it was, it was _really_ bad."

Bella held up a finger and smirked, "I wasn't done; And be wise." She finished before handing the note back to Em.

"Lame." Alice sighed with a shake of her head.

"Be wise, huh?" I furrowed my eyebrows and Angela shrugged.

"She does have a kid at home. She probably means bring a condom."

"Why would she include that-?" Jasper asked.

"Been there done that." I rolled my eyes and laughed into Bella's hair. All eyes turned to me and mine widened. "No, not me! I meant... She has a kid from a lack of condom use... Never mind…" Jasper shook his head and snorted at me.

"_Anyway_…" Angela rolled her eyes. "That's lame."

"Hey, I haven't gotten any action since Rose, I think it's time to get back in the game."

"You two broke up like a month ago… Stop talking like a forty something divorcee." Ange told him from my side, he flipped her off.

"But speaking of Rose-" Bella said as she pulled away.

"Let's not." I groaned.

"I think we need to have a chat when we get home." Emmett said pointing between himself, me and Bella. We nodded and I sighed, gesturing for someone else to pick up the conversational ball. Which Jasper did with gusto.

"I'm going to enlist in the army."

**Review?**

**I'm not sure when the next update will be... I'm sorry :/**

**But your reviews always encourage me to write more!**


	27. Her Ambition

**Thank you again for your reviews and wishes! I'm recovering well and I've now moved into procrastinating about school!**

"So I was thinking..."

"Stop, drop and roll everybody!" Emmett screamed, throwing up his hands as Edward spoke. I chuckled and shook my head, watching Edward throw a chip at him.

"You stop drop and roll for a fire, Emmett." I said before realizing how dumb that was. I blushed madly and Edward rolled his eyes up at me as Emmett pursed his lips.

"Thanks for explaining the joke, Bella." Emmett deadpanned, I snorted and Edward turned to lay his head in my lap.

"You're welcome." I smiled with a wink. He laughed and picked up a heavier free weight. Edward silently offered me a chip and I opened my mouth, allowing him to slide a Dorito in. To return the favor I ran my fingers gently through his hair. He hummed and fed me another chip.

"Mmm, I'll feed you all day as long as you don't stop." I nodded and smiled, sliding my hand into the silken strands again.

"Deal." I smiled. He lifted another chip and I grabbed his wrist with my free hand. I pulled the Dorito from his fingers and tossed it into the bowl. My eyes flickered up to Emmett to make sure he was focused on those weights before I sucked his finger into my mouth. Edward's eyes shot open as I swirled my tongue around his cheese covered digits. I hummed and released the fingers before turning his hand and sucking in his thumb.

"Bella..." Edward whispered, his eyes hooded with lust. I lightly ran my teeth over the pad of his thumb getting the remainder of the cheese and he made a choking noise. He pushed the bowl of Doritos off of his lap and sat up, before he slammed his lips against mine.

"Holy shit..." Emmett boomed from his corner, Edward's hand shot up as did his middle finger. I ignored him and pushed my other hand into Edward's hair. At Em's words Edward's lips started to slow and I wasn't having that.

My boyfriend barely touched me. I wasn't sure if it was because he thought I was too fragile or if he just thought my breath stunk. It could be a mix of the two. But still, I was getting pretty damn tired of the 'Look but don't touch' rule he was subconsciously enforcing.

Seriously. You can't put the two of us in a room and just expect me to look. No. I was going to hump his leg. He was truly too gorgeous to not touch.

Or stop kissing.

When Edward had begun pulling away, I tightened my grip in his hair. "I'm not done." I needed him. And I needed him to want me back. His kisses were tentative before he pulled my hands from his hair.

"Stop, baby..." My eyes popped open to see his screwed shut. I dropped my hands with a defeated sigh.

Every time.

We both panted quietly and he pulled away before Emmett snapped at Edward. The front door creaked open and the two of us began to scramble, which ended with both of us on the floor.

"Smooth..." Emmett dropped his weight and picked up the remote.

"No rough housing..." Carlisle droned from the door. The sound of Esme's heels made us all look up to see her run into the room.

"Bella, dear, are you alright?" I cast a glance at Edward who stood and held out his hand.

"Uh, yeah, thanks." I smiled, taking his hand and standing myself.

"Well I'll be starting dinner when you're ready, kids." She kissed Edward's cheek and patted his shoulder before leaving. When she was gone Edward pulled me against him, cupping my cheek.

"I'm sorry- are you alright?" I nodded and pursed my lips.

"Man, you two just radiate tension and frustration." Emmett groaned as he left the room.

Feeling turned down in the biggest way I pulled back. "I'm okay." I gave him a tight smile and left the room running into Em.

"As much as it grosses me out... you guys are going to have to do something about your situation." I threw up my hands and went for the kitchen. The sound of a slap and Edward's protests echoed as I made my exit.

"Hi, honey!" Esme grinned and Carlisle tossed a smile over his paper. I looked for something to do and sighed happily as I found red and green peppers sitting on the counter.

"Do these need to be chopped?" She nodded and waved her hand.

"I've got it, dear! Why don't you go do something with the boys?" She asked, shrugging at me.

"I just need a little-" Time to recover after my pitiful attempt to turn on my boyfriend. "Girl time." She gasped dramatically and put a hand to her chest.

"With me?"

"You are the only other girl in the house, honey." Carlisle said flipping the page of his paper.

Esme huffed and lightly slapped his shoulder. "True. So get out, I've got to talk to my girl." She bounced over and hugged me tightly. We both watched him leave before she clapped and went to the stove.

"You can shut those doors if you want." She smiled. "Now, go on. Talk to me, honey!" I frowned at her back after she turned. Well I couldn't tell her that her son wouldn't have sex with me. That seemed a little inappropriate.

"Uh... I dunno, I just kinda wanted some time to think... Couldn't do that with all of the-"

"Oh I know exactly what you mean." She giggled. I turned to my peppers and began dicing quickly. There was a loud commotion from the living room before it was brought into the kitchen.

"I just want you to all know-" Carlisle exclaimed throwing up his hands. "That my son has a girlfriend."

"What the hell, dad?" Edward grumbled, coming next to me and grabbing a nearby water bottle.

"And not just a girlfriend! But one that he hasn't had sex with yet!" I began furiously coughing as Esme clapped. Well apparently this family was more open that appropriately so.

Emmett lumbered through the door with a mask of shock. "Edward, you're sexually active?"

"Oh my fucking-" he turned toward the cabinet I faced and dropped his head. "I'm so fucking sorry." I shook my head and shrugged. "I swear I didn't say anything-"

"Edward, you know what? We should go to dinner, in your honor." Esme said, hugging him from behind.

"I think we can just get him a condom shaped cake." I wrinkled my nose at Emmett's suggestion.

"Alright, Bella and I will just go somewhere and act normal while you all finish flipping the fuck out." Edward took my hand and pulled me away from the peppers, making me drop the knife. I silently followed behind him, watching him grab his wallet and keys.

"I'm so fucking sorry..." He repeated his earlier sentiment.

"What am I some record to break?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. "Longest time without sex? With someone who, may I add, really wants it?" Edward dropped his keys and gaped at me. I shrugged and slid into the car as he bent to pick them up. He jogged to the driver's seat and plopped down next to me.

"Bella, that's not a record any guy wants to aim for." He wrinkled his nose and put an arm over the back of my seat. I folded my arms over my chest and sighed. "But anyway, I thought that throwing you over a couch and having my way with you would have been a little inappropriate at the time." He reversed out of the driveway before heading down a street I wasn't familiar with.

"Where are we going?" He shushed me and turned into what looked like a deserted parking lot. He put the car in park and made a sweeping gesture to a decrepit looking building. I hadn't even realized it was there.

"Welcome to Forks Library." I lifted an eyebrow and his bright eyes pierced mine.

"I'm not really in the book reading mood at the moment-" my words were cut short as he leaned across the console and pulled me up to meet his lips. My chest swelled with happiness as our kisses turned passionate.

He broke away for a moment and I gasped, trying to catch my breath. "With all of the shit going on around us... We haven't had time to just be together." He whispered and I nodded, reaching up to touch his cheek. "I don't want this shit pulling us apart." I nodded and leaned in closer. "I want to take you on a date." My eyebrows furrowed before lifting.

"I... I would love to! But how would we get it past Esme and Carlisle?" He shrugged.

"I don't know, fuck them. It's going to be about you and me from now on." I nodded and he gave a beautiful smile, encouraging my own. "Come here." I tossed my arms over his neck and he lifted me over the small console. I sighed and settled into his lap, dropping a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Clear your schedule for Friday night because we're going out." He smiled, tightening his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. "Is there anything specific you would want to do? Like... Well I don't know..." I bit my lip and leaned back to meet his eyes. I did have something specific but I wasn't sure about how open he'd be to that.

"What?" He smiled at me and tapped my chin.

"I want you to tell me more about you. You know all there is to know about me and now... It's your turn." I ran my fingers through the front part of his hair.

"Anything for you." He nodded and I grinned, kissing him deeply.

When Friday came around I was a bundle of nerves. I tried to play it as cool as possible but my excitement lead to my bouncing, which was a dead giveaway.

"Are you okay?" Emmett asked as we sat through our last class of the day. My eyes were fixed on the clock and my knee bounced erratically. I wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't shaking my whole desk.

"I'm great." I smiled widely and he lifted an eyebrow. Mrs. Dickson passed around a packet of vocabulary terms that we needed to know for the test. Emmett moved his desk closer to mine and pulled out his text book.

"I would expect that you all will be on your best behavior today." Mrs. Dickson announced. "That includes not sleeping through practice time for a test that counts as half of your _overall_ grade. As Mr. Whitlock chose to do earlier today." She gestured to the back of the classroom where Jasper sat twirling a pen between his fingers.

"With all due respect, I don't need this test or the grades, Mrs. Dickson. I will be enlisting in the army after this. I'm set." Jasper shrugged. I furrowed my eyebrows and Mrs. Dickson rolled her eyes so hard I thought they were going to spin out of her head.

I smirked and Emmett lifted an eyebrow, "So are you going to tell me what has you looking like you're on ecstasy?"

"Happiness, Emmett." I grinned. "I get high on life."

"Good for you, Miss Cullen." Mrs. Dickson patted my back and gave me a motherly smile before taking a seat at her desk. Emmett furrowed his eyebrows and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"That's bull. What happened? Did Edward finally promise to kiss you?" I slapped his shoulder and scowled. Little did he know, I expected to get a lot more out of Edward tonight than just a kiss.

"We're going on a date." I whispered with a smile. Emmett's eyebrows furrowed and he scratched his cheek.

"Congrats?" I nodded and pulled out my own book. We worked silently for a few minutes, exchanging an answer or two as we went.

"So what, are you guys running off to Vegas or something?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"No! It's just a date." I rolled my eyes and he huffed.

"I don't get it… What's so exciting about a date?" I bit my lip, not quite willing to tell him that it'd be my first date. Or that I was hoping to screw his brother's brains out. I was tingling just at the thought of it.

Hell, I tingled just at the thought of Edward.

"It's our first date together. We'll finally be alone." The bell rang and I waved as I darted from my seat, hauling ass to my locker. I quickly threw some things into my locker before slamming the door shut to see Edward leaning against the neighboring locker. I took a deep breath and smiled.

"Hey."

He chuckled and cupped my cheek, "You look a little out of breath, you okay?" I nodded quickly, leaning in to kiss him. He smirked against my lips and I sighed.

"I'm great- excited."

"I can tell…" He took my bag from me and slung it over his shoulder before wrapping an arm around my waist. He led me out of the building and this time we only got a few stares, a vast improvement from my first few weeks here.

"What'd you tell Mom and Dad?" I asked as we reached his car. I gave the back seat a quick peek, excited to see that he'd packed us bags.

"I told them that we were going on an AP Biology fieldtrip. It's an overnight trip Mr. Banner takes every year into some part of the forest to learn about biodiversity and whatnot. So excuse the tent back there." I giggled and leaned over the console, kissing his neck. "What's that for?" He asked as I moved my kisses up to his chin.

"It's an _overnight_ trip?" I whispered, biting my lip as I righted myself in my seat.

Edward's eyes widened and he cast me a wary glance. "Uh, if that's not okay with you we can-"

"Oh no, I love that idea." He relaxed and gave me a smile as I spoke.

"Good." Despite his relaxed state he still sent me nervous side looks. Which was _not_ him at all. He'd started giving me weird looks a few days ago and I couldn't for the life of me understand why.

"What's wrong?" I asked for the umpteenth time.

"Nothing." He smiled and I lifted an eyebrow. He tried to give me a convincing nod but I wasn't buying it. "Let's just…" He reached forward and turned on the radio. Some horrible screeching blared through the speakers, and I wrinkled my nose.

"_And that was Miley Cyrus' 'We Can't Stop'_…." I shook my head and turned it down a little bit.

"Sorry, you know how much Emmett loves Miley..." He chuckled before furrowing his eyebrows.

"Okay, you aren't telling me something." My eyebrows knitted as I feared the worst. He was breaking up with me, Carlisle and Esme knew about us, he was actually in love with Rosalie… Oh damn.

"Baby, it's nothing-" He took my chin, making me look at him as we stopped at a red light. "Look at me- it's nothing bad. I'm just trying to figure things out. Don't worry." I bit my lip and he shook his head, smirking as he leaned forward to press his lips to mine. "I'm just…" He pulled back and his eyes searched mine. "Just trying to figure things out." He repeated as trailed his fingers through my hair and down to the tips of it before studying the strands.

"Edward?" I, too, looked at my hair on confusion. He pulled the car up and parked on a mountainous over look. In the distance waved crashed over protruding rocks and onto the sand below.

"This is our stop. La Push." I sat forward, watching the minimal activity going on below.

Perfect.

When I turned back to Edward his smile matched my own and he leaned forward, kissing me soundly.

"Come on." He whispered against my lips before jumping out of the car and grabbing one of the many bags from the back seat. He took my hand and led me into a thicket of trees, following a narrow path down to the water's edge. Luckily he'd warmed me to dress warmly before school because it was quite brisk by the water. We spread out a few blankets on the not-so-sandy ground and took our seats next to each other.

"It's so pretty out here." I sighed as I watched the sunlight dance across the wet rocks at the shore and sparkle on the water. Things seemed brighter here, happier. Even Edward looked less burdened as I snuggled into his arms.

"I know," I looked up to see him staring at me and not the landscape. He ducked his head and laid a sweet kiss on my lips.

"I feel more myself with you, than I have felt in a long time... Like you brought back what I'd been missing." He confessed turning toward me a little bit more on the blanket. I smiled as his green eyes locked on mine, and silently encouraged him to go on.

"My parents died- my real parents- in a car accident when I was nine." He whispered, his entire face fell and he tugged a hand through his hair. "That changed... Everything for me." His eyes fell to the blanket beneath us and I reached out, taking his hand in mine.

"Tell me more?" I whispered, tracing the veins on the back of his hand.

The grimace softened at my touch but his eyes closed, shutting that beautiful window to everything I knew he wanted to say. "At the time, I didn't really understand what had happened. I didn't realize that their death meant that they weren't coming back." He swallowed, furrowing his eyebrows and sat up with determination. "It never hit, not when I was moved to a foster home, not even when they brought me my mother's bracelet in the hospital. It wasn't even when they packed up my things, set aside my parents will or anything." He shook his head and tugged his fingers through his hair. I propped myself up with an arm and he sighed.

"When it did finally hit me I didn't cope well. It was my first year with the Cullens when I realized my parents weren't coming back for me. And I was angry," he let out a bitter chuckle. "Hell, I'm still angry... But I've learned to deal. But for a while I was on a decline. My grades dropped, I barely spoke to anyone- including Mom, Dad, Emmett... It was a really fucking hard time. I got into a lot of fights at school my first few years... So many that my parents put me in this out of juvie program." I listened at rapt attention as he spoke. We'd been together for a while now and this was all news to me.

"That detention hall was enough to make me pull my head out of my ass and straighten out a little-"

"Did they put you away just for an attitude problem?" I asked, leaning toward him.

He shook his head, "They caught me smoking pot... Mind you, this was like two years ago. But they wanted me to see what would happen if I didn't straighten out a little. So I cut back on smoking, a lot. I do it occasionally still but I never hold or anything. But I say that to show you that I've changed, for the better. And I owe you." I shook my head. Sure, I may have given him something to pay attention to besides trouble, but he owed me nothing.

"And I owe you for helping me pull my shit together all those years ago." His eyes flicked to mine, his gaze captivating. I nodded limply before his words clicked.

"Wait, what?!" I gasped. He remembered?

"I've seen you in my dreams, in that cute little yellow dress you loved when we were kids." He smiled fondly and I felt the corners of my lips tug up. He looked out at the water before speaking, "I've always seen you, but I couldn't remember a name or face when I woke up. But I can tell by the way I feel when I'm with you. You're my girl." This time when he looked to me he has an almost childlike glint in his eye. The same one that was so prominent in our youth. "You've always been there for me- even if it's only in my dreams." He cupped my jaw in one hand, running his thumb over the apple of my cheek. "Which sounds creepy, but-" I shook my head and leaned in to kiss him.

"No, not at all." I smiled as I pulled away. I was downright giddy at his revelation. I wanted him to remember me, just as much as I wanted him to remember himself. Who he used to be. I knew time changes people, but his was so dramatic.

Even though I wanted him to remember who he was, his memory wouldn't change a thing for me.

Because I loved him.

Both the old Edward and the new one. Because no matter what age he would always be my Edward.

"You're all I could ask for in a girlfriend and I honestly don't know what the fuck I would do without you… I guess what I'm trying to say in my own fucked up way is that…" He sucked in a deep breath. "I love you." My hand cupped my mouth and I gasped.

"Oh-" The air rushed out of his lungs. "Uh- you don't have to-" I jumped onto him, straddling his waist and cupping his cheeks. He looked up at me, his large green eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and hurt.

"I love you so much, Edward." I laughed as I started to get choked up. He smiled, relief washing over his features as he put a hand on the back of my head and pulled my lips down to his.

He pulled back for a moment and bit his lip, "I, uh..." I cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "I got us a hotel room." My eyebrows shot to my hairline and I almost screamed with happiness. "I didn't think you'd really want to spend tonight in a tent."

"Well, who says I'm one to screw on the first date?" I teased, which looking back was in very bad taste, for the company I kept.

"No! Not for that! I didn't mean for that to sound promiscious or anything I just-"

"I'm kidding!" I whispered, cupping his face as he turned redder beneath my touch. He didn't stop his apologies though as words flew from his mouth.

"We aren't- I definitely don't want to freak you out. God, I'm sorry... I just meant so that we could spend the rest of the night together not like a nightcap or whatever just I don't know... talking." He rambled and I frowned.

"I would love to spend the night with you." I said, leaning in to kiss his jaw.

But I was getting more than a conversation out of him tonight.

**And next chapter... the moment you've all been waiting for...**

**Part of a lemon!**

**Review?**

***Crowd boos and I go into hiding***


	28. Our Firsts

Oh my gosh, I just remembered that I left you guys with a cliffhanger and didn't update for a WEEK! I'm so sorry!

Bella and I arrived at our hotel about on hour later and I'd gotten us checked in, and sent her to the room before checking up on the billing information and ordering room service for the morning. I returned to the room a content man, everything was finally falling into place for me. I was finally alone with the love of my life, I didn't have to worry about Carlisle and Esme hearing us, or Emmett making fun of us... It was just us.

And that was perfect.

I grinned as I approached our room, 513. I gently knocked twice at the room door, as to not alarm her, before it swung open. And there she stood wearing a bright smile and my t-shirt.

Only my t-shirt.

The air whooshed out of my lungs as I looked down at her in the short thing. Just the sight of her little nipples poking through the fabric- begging for my attention- made my knees feel weak. And I swear, I almost fell when I saw just how short that shirt was on her.

Thank god for tall girlfriends.

It was barely enough material to cover the bottom of her ass when she spun for me.

"You like?" She asked with a flirty smile, pulling me into the room and closing the door behind me. I swear, I was almost in a comatose state though; I was in a dick coma. Wait, I wonder if that thing still worked, it's been so long. Bella smile fell as I slipped into a state of terror instead. "You don't like..." She sighed biting that cute bottom lip that made me want to kiss the shit out of her.

"I-" I bumbled around for words and her fingers went to the hem of the shirt.

"I can take it off- I mean, you can have it back if you want." Goodness gracious I wanted that shirt to come off. But I didn't want to push her. If she felt unsafe with me then we would never get anywhere.

"No!" I blurted, but she'd already pulled it halfway up those milky thighs... Just an inch more and I'd be able to see that sweet, sweet...

"God, stop!" I cried pushing away her hands. Her eyes widened and I groaned.

"Sorry." Her fingers fell and she stepped back. The space was enough to give me room to breathe and my dick a chance to not burst through my pajama pants.

"Do you think I'm ugly?" She whispered, fiddling with her fingers.

"What? God no!" I said too loudly for the hour. She jumped back and I sighed. "You are by far, the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen." I went and sat on the edge of her bed. Her eyes followed my every move as I tugged my fingers through my hair. She bit her lip as her hands played with the hem of my shirt.

"Look, I want you to treat me like any other girl. Forget about what happened." Her shoulders lifted as if confidence was just breathed into her. I furrowed my eyebrows as she spoke. She really didn't want me to treat her like other girls…

"You aren't any other girl." I whispered, reaching out and grabbing her- well, my- T-shirt. "That is what makes you special to me." I pulled her to stand between my legs, resting my hands on her hips.

"And you're special to me. That's why I want to do this." She said, trailing two fingers down my cheek. She ducked her head and our lips met tenderly. I moaned against her mouth as she sucked in my bottom lip. She lightly bit it before her hands wrapped in my hair. I let my hands trail down a little lower until I had two handfuls of her cute little ass. My dick stood at full attention as I kneaded the supple flesh over my shirt.

"I love you." I whispered and she moaned against my mouth, popping her ass out more, pressing against my hands.

"I love you." She lifted her knees onto the bed, sliding on to my lap. She stopped about halfway up my thighs and I could feel her heat, begging for me. I moaned into her mouth and she took that as an invitation, sliding her tongue in. I felt around her ass, for any sign of underwear and when I found none I gasped.

"You're not wearing panties?!" I hissed and she lifted an eyebrow.

"I am." She shrugged, reaching behind herself and taking my hand. I locked eyes with her as she slid my fingers down past the fabric and down the crack of her ass, where I found nothing. That is until I reached an absolutely soaked patch of fabric. I almost came then and there. "It's a thong. That counts." Her eyes were playful as she coaxed me to rub her over the fabric. I swallowed thickly as her eyes fluttered shut while she rode my hand. Her back arched after I took control of my own fingers and began grinding them against her wetness. I used my free hand to pull her forward, flush against my chest. I crashed my mouth to hers and lifted my free hand to cup her tit. My stomach tightened as she moaned above me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to forget about my misgivings. My girl wanted me, and the only thing keeping me from her was me. She tilted my head up so that she could kiss me deeply and I focused on giving into my need. I pushed us farther up the bed before lying back on the pillows. I felt her little body scoot up mine and almost came when she settled over my cock.

"Edward." It wasn't moaned or whimpered. My eyes shot open to see her sitting on me with her arms folded over her chest.

"I'm trying." She braced her hands on my chest and swung her leg off of me, moving off of the bed. She ran a hand through her hair before storming out of the room. I jumped up and went after her. I caught her arm in the hall and she turned to me, her eyes sad. "I'm sorry-"

"It's not your fault." I furrowed my eyebrows because it kind of was my fault. She shrugged and blinked, her eyes becoming glassy.

"It is. What are you talking about?" I asked holding her biceps.

"I shouldn't be trying to force things." She whispered. "It's not like I can force you to be attracted to me. I'm so sorry." A tear rolled down her cheek and I shook my head, brushing it away.

"Are you crazy? You-"

"I know, I'll never look like Emily. My boobs won't be as big as Lauren's..."

"Bella, you are the hottest girl I've ever met. I've been attracted to you since you opened that door. I don't want you to look like Emily, you're already forty times prettier. And your boobs are perfect." I laced my fingers with hers and tugged her into the bedroom. "And you're better than both of them combined in every way possible. I love you-" I closed the door behind her and grabbed her hips, pushing her back against it. "-everything about you. And if I didn't find you attractive," I took her hand and pressed it against my hard and throbbing member. "I sure as hell wouldn't have this." Her eyes widened and I panicked, yanking her hand away.

"Sorry, sorry." I apologized as I took a step backward. Her eyebrows furrowed before she set her jaw, looped her fingers through my belt loops and pulled me against her, locking her mouth on mine.

"I want you to shut up and give it to me, Edward." She said, breaking away and pushing me to the bed. "I have needs too."

"I know." I whispered as I fell onto the bed when it hit the back of my knees. She lifted an eyebrow and reached under her shirt, before shimmying out of her panties. She held the scrap of fabric with the tip of her finger before tossing them to me. I caught them eagerly, spreading the fabric over my fist. I bit my lip as I looked at the soaked fabric, moaning at her smell.

"Trust me when I say that I know how to say stop. That's not the problem and as long as you listen, we won't have one." She gave me a look asking if I understood and I nodded. "Good." She gave me a cute smile before taking a deep breath and grabbing the hem of my shirt. She winked before pulling the short shirt over her head.

"Oh my fucking..." I cursed as my eyes lingered on every smooth, plump and curved part of her body. She was stunning. My jaw dropped as she slowly came to me.

"Now I think you're wearing a little too much." She whispered as her hand slid into my hair making me meet her eyes. I nodded silently before reaching down to push down my pajama pants. When my thumbs hooked into my boxers I became acutely aware of the fact that I was extremely close to jizzing on myself. Instead I turned back to Bella, watching as she climbed up onto her bed, giving me a delicious view of her round ass and her sweet, drenched pussy. She turned on to her back as she relaxed and crooked her fingers at me.

"Come here." She whispered before pulling her hair out of her ponytail and letting it flutter down around her shoulders. I crawled up to her, struggling to pass by her pussy and nipples, both of which begged for my attention.

"You are... Amazing." I whispered against her lips as they pulled into a large smile.

"Hmm, I love you." She sighed, her sweet breath washing over my lips. I hummed and kissed her deeply, making sure I still hovered over her. "And I need you to touch me." She arched until her soft chest touched mine. Hell, if I started I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop. Which was a huge fucking problem.

I lifted a slightly shaky hand and cupped her soft tit, moaning as I kneaded it. I had to have my mouth on it. Our eyes locked as I slid down just enough until I was face to face with them. I took their fullness into my hands, pushing them together, so that I was able to lay kisses and little laps of my tongue on both. My girl moaned and bucked beneath me as I moved to suck on her nipple, plucking on the other.

"Mmmm, fuck." She whispered and my hips immediately dropped to hers. Something about hearing that dirty little word coming from her pretty little mouth flipped a switch. "Oh god," she cried as I ground into her wetness. I moaned as the feel of her heat penetrating the fabric of my briefs. I laid little kisses between her tits and down her stomach before she grabbed my hair.

"You don't have to." She whispered as her hips rolled against my pecs, soaking my chest.

"You're so wet." I said, slipping a finger between her drenched lips. She bit her lip and pulled on my hair as I continued down.

"Wait." I froze and she winced. "I just... I want to be on top." I lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah? You want to sit on my face, baby?" I questioned as my cock began aching to get inside of her.

"I don't think-"

"Uh uh, gorgeous. I'm going to eat it." I said as I turned us so that I was beneath her. "You think I'm going to fuck you-" she let out a shaky gasp and rolled her hips. "Before I get my mouth on that beautiful, little pussy?" She let out a choking noise and I pushed myself up the bed, forcing her to sit on my chest.

"Edward..."

"You'll love it. I promise. Now grab the headboard." I ordered and her hands flew forward, gripping it tightly. I grabbed her thighs and pulled her forward letting her settle her moist heat over my mouth. I turned away from her plump lips to lightly kiss the side of her thigh. She jumped and sighed, eliciting a smile from me. I kissed my way to the juncture of her thigh and her pelvis before sliding my nose through the soft, trimmed curls.

"Ed- Ahhh..." She moaned as my lips locked over her clit, sucking the bud into my mouth. I released her and lapped at her, looking up to see her slack jawed above me. It didn't take long for my girl to get into it though, as she began to ride me not too long after I made contact. I slid my tongue down into her moist lips, fucking her with my mouth. She whimpered above me and reached down to grab my hair, swiveling her hips so that her clit pressed against my nose as I ate her.

My Bella was easily the wettest girl I'd ever been with, her delicious juices gushed into my mouth and down my chin as she rode me.

I unwillingly pushed her hips back, licking my lips. I moved to sit up, sitting her in my lap, cradling her as she panted.

"Oh my god..." She whispered, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me forward to kiss her. She licked at my lips as we kissed and I rocked my hips into her, unable to even _attempt _to act like that didn't turn me the fuck on. I grabbed her hips, guiding her as she ground against me.

"Bella, baby, I want your first time to be special." I whispered, breaking away from her lips and kissing her neck.

"It's not my first." Her hands were quick as she pulled me out of my underwear. I groaned as her soft, warm hand wrapped around me.

"Your first time with me." I pulled back and patted my chest.

"It's special _because_ it is you." Her free hand came up to cup my cheek. "My Eddie. I've waited for so long. Just for you." I leaned forward and kissed her soundly. Her hand pumped me furiously, is she kept it up I was sure to come. "Please?" I shut my eyes tightly and tried to fight off my impending orgasm. "Anyway what's more special than our first 'I love you's'?"

"Not tonight." I gritted out. She didn't let that stop her though, sliding down my waist until she was face level with my dick. "My goodness you are resilient." I hissed before I felt the tip of her tongue lick its way from my base to tip.

"You don't have to-" I gulped loudly as I met her determined eyes.

"Don't look so terrified." She smiled lazily, the effects of her orgasm shining through. I let out a short puff of breath watching as she kissed my tip. Her lips felt like heaven on my aching dick and I was way too far gone to refuse any help from her. She gripped me firmly at the base before pressing my tip to her full lips, placing another kiss on it. She smirked and pushed her head down, her soft lips enveloping my hardness. I let out an embarrassingly high squeak as her free hand slid up my stomach, and she took me deeper.

"Fuck." I whispered and her eyes fluttered shut as she moaned around me. I wanted to fucking cry at how good she felt, her moist tongue caressing me. Her hand pumped the rest of me as I hit the back of her throat. "Oh my god." Her eyes opened and she hummed again, the vibrations almost making me bust a nut.

Our eyes locked as I watched her bob up and down on my dick, driving me crazy. Her hand found mine and she held it as I lost all control and began bucking into her mouth. She took my deeper with every duck of her head and it was steadily pushing me closer and closer to the edge.

My hips instinctively drew away from her mouth as I felt my impending orgasm surface. My breathing quickened as I reached the edge.

"Baby, I'm gonna-" My words stuck in my throat as she pulled away and my cum shot out it milky white ropes, painting her chin, neck and chest. My head dropped back involuntarily as I felt all of my muscles relax. I didn't forget about my girl of course. I reached out to the tissue box on her night stand and sat up as I grabbed it.

"Fuck, I'm sorry." I sighed, a little out of breath as I wiped her chest with the tissues. She smiled and took some tissues herself, wiping her chin and lips, while licking the little bit that hit her lips. "You're going to kill me." I whispered, collecting the dirtied napkins from her and tossing them into her wastebasket.

I turned back to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her to me so that she lay on my chest. She smiled, still floating on cloud nine. I tilted her chin up and kissed her deeply. Usually kissing after a blowjob was a no-no, but with her it was all the better.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" She said softly, the grin audible in her voice.

"Bad is far from the word I was going to use." I panted.

**Soooo...?**


	29. My Never Ending Irritation: Part 2

When Bella and I arrived at home we were still floating on cloud nine. It was a dark and dreary ass day, but even that shit couldn't bring me down. I had a feeling Bella felt the same way, as she sat next to me beaming.

Of course the only thing that could wipe the smiles off of our faces _did_.

When we parked in the drive way a red, scraped, BMW convertible sat there.

And Emmett's Jeep didn't.

"No." Bella whispered from my side, dropping my hand. My jaw reflexively tensed as I parked and grabbed our bags. "Maybe we should come back later?" She whispered, grabbing my arm.

"No trust me, it won't be any better later."

"They could have cooled off."

"Or spent all of their time worrying about if I have or haven't molested you- oh fuck. I'm sorry." She rolled her eyes and sent a wary glance to the house.

"She _could _also just be here to talk about the accident." I shook my head and started up the cobblestone pathway that led up to the door.

"We settled that a week ago." She furrowed her eyebrows and reached out, grabbing my hand.

"Well we're busted." She whispered. I pulled the back of her hand to my lips before dropping it. As great as it'd be to walk in as a united front; there was no chance that'd help us. And I explained this to Bella as she frowned at her hand. "I guess it makes sense..."

"I love you." I said softly as I reached the doorknob. She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes, they were devastated.

"I love you too." She sighed back. I pushed the door open and was met with an eerily quiet house. I lifted an eyebrow, dropping my bag in the hall. I continued into the kitchen to find no one. "It's so quiet." Bella whispered, ducking down slightly as if we were on some kind of mission.

"They're probably plotting my death." I say in a whisper, just in case anyone is nearby.

"Hey, we'll go together."

"Nuh uh, baby. They'll kill me and probably have you checked for bruises or something. They won't do a thing to you." The distinct sound of my fathers chair groaning in protest as he leaned back echoed from upstairs. That wasn't good. Dad only took really important people into that office. Which meant he didn't think Rose was joking, I was secretly hoping for that. Bella's head craned back as we both looked at the ceiling and I groaned.

Heavy footsteps made their way down the hallway, heading in the direction of the stairs we stood by. Carlisle knew we were here and our secret now. And he was coming toward us. I stood stock still, I probably couldn't have moved I'd I tried, my feet felt like cement blocks.

"Both of you upstairs _now_." Dad barked down at us as he stood at the landing with his hands fisted at his hips. It was silent for a moment before his hand shot out and smacked the top of the banister, making Bella jump. "Now." He roared before spinning and stomping away to his office.

When I looked over at her Bella's eyes were red. I took her hand and pulled her into my arms.

"Everything will be fine, just let me do the talking, okay?" She nodded and clutched my back. I kissed her hair before pulling away and heading up the stairs.

"I feel like I'm walking to my death." She whispered, her words caught at the end with a teary chuckle. I nodded and said nothing else as we went into the office.

Dad's office had always been intimidating. The large, floor to ceiling mahogany bookshelves. The intricate dark desk that sat in the middle of the room, footed by tall wing backed chairs, the kind you would imagine being in a fancy prep school Dean's office. The kind of chairs that screamed "you're in trouble." And the most intimidating of all would be my father sitting intensely behind his desk.

But that all changed today. The only thing in that room that was truly bothersome was the pretty, smirking blonde sitting in one of those wing backed chairs, next to my mother in the matching one.

"Edward." I was surprised she could move her lips enough to speak. Her smile stretched across her face, proud and disgustingly content.

I ignored her and looked between my parents. Dad glared from behind his statuesque desk. Mom looked at Bella with pity but when her eyes turned to mine the pity morphed into disgust.

"Rosalie came over this morning to alert us of something that was happening in our house. Something that hadn't been brought to my attention before." Dad said slowly, his voice deathly quiet.

"Can you cut the dramatics, is that really necessary?" I huffed.

"Edward!" Mom snapped and I shut my mouth. She opened her mouth again to speak and instead shook her head before trying again. "I am _so_ disappointed in you, young man."

"And disgusted. To take advantage of your sister?!" Dad slammed his hands on his desk. My heart sank but I pushed that aside, instead focusing on the fury that bubbled in my stomach. Fuck, I knew that my parents weren't my biggest fans but to accuse me of hurting Bella- _anyone_- that was like a fucking knife in the chest.

"She's not my sister, she's my girlfriend." I rolled my eyes and the three of them turned red. Hey maybe ripping it off like a bandaid would make it hurt less...

"And he isn't taking advantage of me! Everything we do is consensual and we haven't been having sex." Bella said strongly, stepping forward despite my earlier warning. My chest swelled as my girl stuck up for me in a way that no one else had, ever.

She was gorgeous and so brave, the way she faced them without a firing squad. My love spread from head to toe as I watched her. If I hadn't realized I loved her when I did, this moment would be a definite deciding factor.

"We want to provide you with a safe home. We were worried about this when we decided to adopt a girl." Esme said, biting the nail of her thumb.

"And I appreciate that. I really do. This had been one of the easiest transfers I've ever had. I've felt at home with you all, and that means so much. But you can't act like Edward is doing anything bad here. He's made me feel very welcomed here and safe-"

"We don't need to hear your prewritten spiel." Dad sighed. "This is not a subject that's up for discussion." He looked at Rosalie and then nodded to mom who led the bitch out of the room. "Sit." He pointed at the newly vacated chairs and we followed his orders.

"I don't understand- you aren't going to hear us out? You have someone else's point of view on this- someone that isn't _in _this relationship… But you won't listen to _us_?" Bella asked, still not quite up to date on how fucked up things were around here.

"I told you before. I don't need to hear anything. What you two are doing is _wrong._"

"You do realize we aren't fucking related, right?" I huffed.

"Of course I do! What isn't okay is the fact that you're using her."

"I'm _not_ fucking _using_ her!" I threw up my hands. "Is it that fucking hard to believe that I'm a person that has feelings and wants to be with another person too? I don't just live my life to hurt people."

He shook his head, "What I do see is you taking advantage of a girl who has been harmed and is in a situation where you have the ability to trap her."

"He isn't doing any of those things! We can't help the situation- that we're under your care… That in no way means that he's taking advantage of me! So _stop_ saying that!" My jaw tightened as I watched Bella turn red.

"Don't waste your time arguing with him. He's had his mind made up since we walked into the house. What're you going to do?" The door behind us opened and closed and I looked over my shoulder to see Mom walk in to stand next to Carlisle.

"Your father and I have decided that it's in our best interest if I go to San Francisco and take the job down there." Mom said, I furrowed my eyebrows.

Bella gasped and I frowned, "What does that have to do with us?" I looked at Bella who was shaking her head, her face crumpled.

"We're sending you with her." Dad looked at Bella as he spoke.

"No…" She whispered, as a tear streaked down her cheek.

"What the fuck?!" I shot out of my chair and my parents jumped. "You're just going to fucking move her states away because we're together!? What is wrong with you people?! We haven't done jackshit wrong!"

"Edward-" Dad barked shaking his head.

"No. You fucking rethink all of this. I'm telling you right now that I'm not going to let you tear us apart because you don't like the idea. Fuck the both of you!"

"You just found out about this, please don't make any rash decisions." Bella begged in between her sniffing and hiccuping.

"We have put thought into it, we don't think it's healthy for you two to be living together."

"Why the fuck not?! I swear on my fucking life I'd never do anything to hurt her! I haven't and I won't. And on top of that we have been perfectly appropriate or whatever the fuck you want to call it! It's just like having two people in a relationship move in together!"

"But we _aren't even having sex_! We haven't done anything wrong!" Bella pitched in.

"You have done wrong. If you didn't think it was wrong you wouldn't have hid this from us." He sighed.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Bella whispered her voice cracking. "You didn't take the time to think about how this will affect us."

"You need to think about this again; because there is no way in hell I'm letting you take me away from her again." I picked up Bella's hand from the armrest and she held the back of my palm to her cheek. Carlisle and Esme stared at us, looking perplexed. I turned to Bella and lowered my voice as I spoke to her, "We don't have to stay here." She nodded and stood, letting me wrap an arm around her waist as we left the room. I led her into my room and pulled out a suitcase.

"What are you doing?" Bella whispered, sitting on my bed as I began ripping shit out of my drawers.

"If they don't change their minds, I think we should run away?" I said hesitantly, forming it as a question, because I obviously needed her approval.

She nodded and wiped her eyes before the corners of her mouth turned up, "Great minds think alike." I grinned and hugged her tightly.

"I'm not letting them tear us apart." I said softly, cupping her tear streaked face. "You are my everything."

"I can't keep on without you." My pulse quickened as she spoke and I hoped she didn't mean it the way I'd heard it. "I don't mean... _Life _but this situation." I sighed in relief and went back to packing.

"The day that they make the choice to split up is the night that we leave." She stood and grabbed my cheeks, pulling me down for a salty kiss. I smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Go pack a little, I'll meet you in there. But don't make a fuss about it, we don't want to give them a chance to stop us." There was a timid knock on the door before it slowly inched open.

"May I come in?" Mom whispered, poking her head in.

"We'd rather you didn't." I answered for us both as I kicked my leg out and caught my foot on the handle of my suitcase, kicking it to the floor. Mom sighed and stepped in anyway, like I knew she would. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she fiddled with her hands as if this decision was made in order to hurt _her_.

"What do you want?" I asked, letting Bella pull herself out of my grasp.

"Look, I know that you two really like each other. But you have to step back and look at how inappropriate this all is."

"That we love each other?"

"Love is a big word, Edward." Mom said her brown eyes wide.

"It's not big enough." I took Bella's hand and she held it in both of hers. "I don't understand what is so bad about us living together? We've done it for two months now and obviously we haven't had a problem."

Mom pursed her lips, "I'm sorry for accusing you of forcing- of what I did. I really am. I said it in the heat of the moment... I know you wouldn't." She blurted. I nodded but I wasn't sure I'd really be able to forgive her. "I know you don't want this move, but your dad is pretty much set."

"We know." Bella sighed, tugging her hand through her hair.

"Set as in I've already taken the job." She gulped. "And he's working out living arrangements and dates."

"So what? You can't just pin this all on him. It's your offer and you're the one leaving."

"Edward, I don't want to just completely uproot my life either."

"Why do you all just let him push you around?" Bella asked, raising her eyebrow. "Esme, tell him you don't want to go."

"That wouldn't help anything, and I did accept the offer already. It's not going to all just correct itself because we tell him." I shook my head and excused myself, passing Esme and heading into the office where dad sat.

"Do you know what you're doing?" I asked shutting the door behind me and locking it.

"I'm done talking to you, Edward. You may see yourself out."

"We'll then just listen. You might be too mad at me for loving Bella to realize that you're tearing this family apart." He didn't spare me a glance as he continued doing something on his computer. "You're sending the women we love hours away. You do know mom would go too...? So what about the three of us?" Maybe I could relate to him on a selfish level, he did only think about himself after all. "What are you going to do without mom? And she means the world to Emmett and me as well! You're going to stay back and take care of me and Em by yourself?" His ears perked up and his hand stopped moving on the mousepad but he never looked up. "It may not mean anything to you when you send Bella away, a girl you've known for a few months-"

"I love Bella too, like my own daughter!" He growled. "That's why I think it'd be best to get her out of here. "

"Whatever. You didn't let me finish-"

"And I don't care to."

"Mom would also be with Bella, so far away. But Bella and I, we would be apart for a few months, but then we could just go to the same college, or colleges that are close to each other. You and mom would still be apart for a number of years. That seems like a great sacrifice just for you to get back at me." I shrugged. "See, I can be adult enough to examine this situation and look at what's best for all of us, which this is not. If I can do that, I can sure as hell be responsible enough to live with my girlfriend." I stuck my hands into my pockets and lifted my eyebrows. My points were solid and I was right. At least more so than he was.

"Leave, Edward."

"Fine but I hope you remember this conversation in six months when you realize this all backfired." I let the room and he called for mom.

"Edward..." Mom whispered as she passed me in the hall.

"She said there is no turning back at this point." Bella murmured, standing from the bed.

"She's wrong." Despite his aloof appearance I knew dad heard me. I knew who he was and how he was. He'd forever worry about himself and that slice of reality I'd just given him probably changed the whole plan.

"I'm going to pack. Just in case." I nodded and kissed her temple, watching as she left the room.

The front door slammed downstairs and Emmett's footsteps thundered up the staircase.

"Hello?" He called with no answer. He knocked heavily on my door and I groaned, which he took as an invitation.

"How'd it go last night?" He asked closing the door behind himself.

"Last night was amazing." I smiled at the memory that seemed so long ago.

"Then why do you look like I ran over your dog?" He asked, falling back into my desk chair. I sighed and tugged a hand through my hair. Em's face dropped as he looked up at me. "Dude don't tell me she broke up with you..."

"Of course not. But when we drove up this morning Rosalie was here." His eyes widened and he gasped.

"Bro." I nodded and he leaned forward putting his head between his knees.

"They said that Bella and Mom are moving to California. Mom accepted the job."

"Ah fuck, man..." He looked up and tilted his head before pointing at my opened bag. "Why are you packing then?"

"We aren't going to be split up." I said simply, heading into my closet and grabbing a few more shirts.

Emmett was silent for a few minutes before he finally spoke, "Can I go?"

**All I can really ask is that you not throw things :D**

**But I'm ballsy enough to ask you to review as well.**

**So please review :)**


	30. All For Her

"And where would we go?" Emmett asked, tossing an arm over the back of my chair. I shrugged and Edward frowned. Ever since Edward had accepted Emmett's invitation for himself we've been bombarded with Em's questions as he drank himself into a stupor.

"Well that fucks things up quite a bit." Edward bit his thumb.

"Dude we could stowaway in mom's luggage. Easy as pie." Em suggested, lifting his fourth cup of wine to his lips.

"You may want to slow down." I warned, garnering an obnoxious laugh from Emmett. He shook his head and tilted the bottom of the cup to the air, downing the remains.

"Wine won't get me drunk, Bella. You silly girl." He used the arm around my chair to reach all the way around my face to pinch my nose. I knocked his arm away and scowled as I pushed his chair away, sending him rolling in the opposite direction.

Emmett snapped from his new post, "What about your house, Edward?" He asked pointing at his brother. Edward looked from him to me before shrugging in confusion. His eyes were wide and he shook his head.

"I live here, Emmett." Edward pursed his lips and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"No, your _real_ house. Like where you grew up. You know, with your actual parents." Edward sat down on his bed, his shoulders slumping as he shook his head.

"That's not a good idea. I don't know anything about how to approach getting' it or…"

My eyes widened as I stood up, "Someone fill me in- you have a _house?_" I felt idiotic as I listened to them talk about a _secret property_ my boyfriend owned. I guess I'd just assumed that he'd had what Emmett and I did outside of our new family.

Nothing.

When neither of the boys responded I clapped once, "_House?_" Emmett nodded and pointed the back end of the wine bottle to Edward before pouring another glass.

"I know nothing about that place. Mom and Dad really have all of the information." He shrugged.

"But you have the key. That's all that matters, dude!"

"Okay, that's cool, guys. Just ignore me." I sat back in the chair and Edward looked up at me.

"My parents gave me their house in their will. It was my grandmothers before that and stuff… So it's just being passed down… But I haven't been there in a good nine years. It's probably not even livable now." He shrugged.

"We can fix it up. Can we build it? _Yes we can_! Em the builder…" Emmett sang to himself bobbing his head from side to side as he swirled the wine around in his glass. "It's worth a shot, yo."

"You're drunk."

"No! Seriously- I mean, yes that too- but we can always take a trip down. Even if you don't want to go I can take Bells down and we can scope the place out."

"That's my family's place."

"Edward! It is the only place we can actually go. We sure as hell can't go to our parents' houses." Emmett snorted and waved a finger between the two of us. I shrugged and nodded but Edward's jaw ticked.

"I don't know, I'd have to check it out for myself okay?" Edward threw up his hands and pushed his backpack off of his bed.

"Field trip?" I suggested quietly, hoping to lighten the mood. Emmett laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair while Edward was lost in thought.

"I don't think you should go." He said after a while, his bright green eyes locking mine in.

My head snapped back and I lifted an eyebrow, "What? Why not? I'm a part of this too."

"Look, if mom and dad know we're going off together it'll seem suspicious." Emmett clapped after Edward spoke and I jumped.

He splayed out his hands, "I can tell the parents we're going out to have a guy's night tomorrow!" Em said like it was the easiest thing ever. "They won't even believe that I'm going. You know- cause I'm the good one." He did a pretend hair flip and almost fell over, laughing boisterously.

I jumped up and covered his mouth with my hand. "Emmett, they'll know something's up if you wake them!"

"Why are you even drinking?" Edward asked propping his chin up on a fist as he watched me help Em back into his chair. "It's not like they're shipping your girlfriend off."

"Maybe I'm getting drunk because I have no girlfriend to ship off." He pouted and then pulled me into his lap, hugging my waist. "I'm kidding. I guess I don't want to think about what will happen if they decide to send Bella away. You know, if our plan doesn't work." He turned his attention to me as he spoke, his cloudy eyes sincere. I pursed my lips and hugged his neck, kissing his forehead. My throat got thick when his arms tightened and I was blinking back tears.

"It sounds like we'll just have to make this work." I shrugged, forcing a chuckle through my coated throat.

"Which means we'll have to go to your house, Edward. Let's go after school tomorrow. It's Friday and the 'rents will understand you needing to get wasted." He nodded.

"It's like an hour drive from here to Port Angeles."

Emmett gasped and I stumbled from his lap, letting him return to drinking. "That's where you're from?" I sat next to Edward on the bed and rubbed his back. The conversation was obviously taking its toll on him; it was like he'd retreated into himself.

"But it's your house, Edward. So whatever you decide to do works for me." I said softly. He turned on to his back and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me down to his chest.

He sighed, "I love you." I smiled and he looked to Emmett to see him peeking into the bottle of wine. "I'll go." I clapped and hugged him tightly as Emmett whooped. "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

**Okay I know this is extremely short, but I'll be updating tomorrow as well! I promise!**

**Review?**


	31. My Reunion

**Yes, I'm aware that it's like a week + after I promised to update and I am very sorry, but here you are.**

"Are you nervous?" Emmett asked as we entered Port Angeles. I shook my head and watched buildings wiz by, and people disappear one after another.

"Nah, why should I be? It's not like my parents will be there." I pursed my lips and rolled my eyes. Coming down was completely unnecessary, what the hell were we going to do with an empty house? It wasn't like we'd have any problems with a small space and some walls.

"I don't know, like it's your childhood home, dude." I stuffed my hand into my pocket and clenched my mothers bracelet in my fist.

"You remember what it looked like? The house?"

"I mean, I remember certain parts of the house but they were all inside."

"Well that's no help."

I huffed, "Oh you fucking think so?" I knew that little tidbit wouldn't help but he asked...

"It's pretty cute." Em said with an affirmative nod. "I looked it up on Google maps."

"Yeah?" He nodded and I smirked.

"I think this is it-" he glanced down at the GPS and nodded. "This is it!" He thrust an arm over my chest, his thick fingers pointing to a modest looking house with a huge yard. I looked out at the house with just a slight feeling of recognition. The building was the same but there had been so many changes that it looked like someone else's home. I don't know what I had been expecting, but not that.

"What the hell happened?" I whispered to myself, clenching the keys in my fist. "Are you sure this is right?" Emmett nodded and parked the car. I stepped out on to the warm concrete and lifted an eyebrow at the house. It didn't look like it'd been empty for eight years. There were flowers planted, and opened windows and fresh paint.

Did Carlisle and Esme sell my parents home?

Could they do that?

The house was dark for the time of day. It didn't seem like there was any activity going on except for distant giggles from a neighbors yard. Emmett walked up next to me and placed his hands on his hips.

Man I wished we'd brought Bella.

I needed a hug... Or a slap or something.

"Jeeze, what's your deal?" Emmett asked like the dumbass that occasionally resurfaced every now and then. I turned to him, wide eyed.

"Someone is living in my parents house! What the fuck?!" I went to head up to my house when he stopped me with a hand on my arm.

"Dude, if there are people in there you need to chill out." I glared at his hand before yanking out of his grip with an unwilling nod. I tugged a hand through my hair and pulled open the passengers door, reaching beneath the seat to grab the water bottle filled with vodka. "Well that's probably not the best idea..." I flipped him the finger as I took a shot.

And then another to quell the nerves that were unconsciously swarming in my stomach. Maybe I lied earlier because with every breath I took now I was growing increasingly more nervous.

Emmett began patting himself down and scowling, "I can't find my damn..." He continued to mutter and I ignores him, walking steadily to the house. I wasn't going to wimp out. I had to do this for Bella, Emmett and myself. We'd be split if I were too much of a pussy to enter, so there was only one solution.

To go in.

Emmett made a fuss behind me and I just powered on. He would thank me later, I was sure of it. I knocked loudly on the door of the house that should have been vacant. Hell it was my house anyway.

I pulled out my key and turned it in my hand as I waited. Emmett clomped his way up behind me and was saying something quickly under his breath. I slid the key into the lock and his hand came down on my arm.

"Are you sure this is it?" He sounded nervous, more so than I did pre-shots. I nodded and gave him a look that told him to chill the fuck out. It was my parents' house after all. He nodded and took a deep breath before focusing on my hand. I bit my lip as my heart began to race as I too stared at my hand. It was weird because no matter how much I willed my fingers to turn the key, they didn't.

"Anyyyy day now, champ." Emmett taunted, his voice soft and unsure. I rolled my eyes and turned the key to the left before pushing the door open. I was hit with an unfamiliar scent as the air rushed from the house. I frowned and stepped over the threshold, allowing myself to fully take in my surrounding. Things remained virtually the same inside. Even the furniture.

It was strange looking around the relatively bright home. It was always dark in my dreams and seeing sunlight flood the room was a welcome change.i gasped as I spotted my fathers favorite chair. A news paper laid next to it on a small end table and I smiled. It was all to easy to see my parents moving about the house. I could picture my mother complaining because the couch wasn't high enough to vacuum over and my father snagging her from her work to entangle her in a warm embrace.

I shook my head and stumbled backwards, pinching the bridge of my knows. Who would live in their home and not disturb one thing on the inside? I looked at the walls to see my parents same photos on the wall, as well as the collection of pictures lining the wall that led up the staircase. They were all of me, but they increased with every year before finally stopping at nine. Those pictures stopped just as the nine year old boy had.

Now I stood in front of the stairwell, a matured, puberty riddled, young man.

I turned to look at the fireplace where something was severely out of place. I wasn't sure what it was, but something on that mantle wasn't right. I couldn't remember exactly what was off because its been years, but upon further inspection I discovered what it was.

A silver framed picture sat in the middle of the ones containing my family. A dark haired woman and my father half hugging and looking to the camera in the picture. Both wore bright smiles that drew out my own. I felt Emmett walk up next to me and stop in his tracks.

"Uh are these the people that live here now?" He asked in a strange tone. I shook my head and sat down the frame before snatching a different frame of my parents only and pulling the picture out of the frame.

"These are my parents." My voice was thick and my chest felt heavy. I ran my thumb over my moms face and shook my head. I slipped the picture into my back pocket and turned from the mantle.

"Man, you and your dad..." He stared at the row of frames with wide eyes. I smiled and nodded.

"Emmett, nothing has changed since they passed away. Every inch of this place is exactly the same..." Though, it lacked warmth though without my parents.

"That's good, right? That no ones here..."

"There's definitely someone here. It wouldn't be so clean and shit if it'd been left alone for almost a decade..."

"Well why would they leave your parents stuff the same? Are they like squatters?"

"Squatters don't pay or care to have the entire front facade of the house changed." Someone was generously overlooking serious upkeep. The question was... Who?

"Mom and Dad maybe?" Emmett answered my unspoken question. I shook my head because no one had that kind of jurisdiction over the house aside from me.

The front door to the house swung open and Em and I turned quickly. "Shit do we hide?!"

"We have a right to be here. They don't."

"What if they call the cops?!" I folded my arms over my chest and looked toward the approaching footsteps. A woman rounded the corner holding a toddlers hand, a messy toddler at that.

The baby looked up at us and squeaked, tugging on her moms hand.

"Jesus!" The woman jumped as she turned to look at us. The movement was so jerky that her hair flew across her face, the same dark hair that was pictured behind us. Her dark green eyes were wide and terrified as she clutched at her chest. The kids head whipped back and forth between us and her mom.

"Dude." Emmett whispered as the woman whipped out a can of pepper spray.

"Claire, go outside." She said in a tone that was strained. The little one gave us a cautious look before darting and leaving her mom behind.

"Look, there's not need for that-" Emmett gestured to the can and she held it up.

"You're in my house, I think it's pretty sensible." She obviously had no clue who I was, despite the pictures of my father that she had around the house. Even I had to agree that we were almost identical despite our ages. Maybe she was too shocked to connect the dots... If I were her and I'd walked in on two huge teenaged boys I would have probably freaked too.

But despite her oblivion I recognized her.

"Are you..." I started but I couldn't come right out and say what I really wanted to, she didn't know me well enough. That was her fault, though. I racked my brain for her name and reached deep into the repressed memories for a clue.

"Uh, I doubt you know her, bro."

"Carmen?" I blurted ignoring Emmett. The woman's head jerked back and she knitted her eyebrows.

"Am I on a hit list of some kind?" She whispered. My eyes narrowed as she confirmed what I'd thought all along.

Carmen Mason.

"I don't..." Emmett's gaze was worried as he stared at me. "Think so?"

"I'm calling the police. This is breaking and Entering!" She pulled out a cell phone and I spoke up.

"Not quite, because I have a key." I held it up and her jaw dropped. "To my house." She gasped loudly and squinted at me.

"Edward?"

"You two know each other?" Emmett asked. I wanted to fucking put my fist through a wall as I stared at the woman.

"She's my aunt." The aunt that put me into the system because she didn't want to deal with me. She watched me suffer through my parents dying and rejected me despite the fact that I had no one to go to. She flew in from wherever the fuck just to sign away her rights and leave again. She didn't even show for the funerals, nor did she have a hand in putting them together. She just disappeared.

Rage continued to build inside of me as I watched her cup her mouth and tear up. She acted as though I were her long lost nephew as opposed to her long disowned nephew.

"But... You're so old." She waved her hand down by her waist. "Last time I saw you you were this high."

"I was as tall as you last time I saw you. When you came back to sign away your rights to me I was ten." She was a short woman and I was being totally honest. Emmett winced at my side and frowned at my words and tone.

"Looks like you got to pick and choose from the will." I looked around the house, despite my knowing that it was mine.

"They didn't leave me the house, Edward."

"I'm aware. So why the fuck are you living here and changing shit?"

"Look, why don't you boys have a seat? We can talk this all through." Her hands began shaking as she looked up at me guiltily.

"I'm Emmett, we're brothers." Em said jovially, just completely in the dark as usual. She gestured to the couch and Em slapped my shoulder before sitting and getting comfortable. I begrudgingly sat next to him and shook my head.

"Can I get you boys anything?"

"Milk." Emmett said.

"Answers." We both turned to each other and looked at one another incredulously.

"What's so wrong with milk?!" He asked with a shrug.

"Shut up." I snapped and Carmen stepped out.

"I didn't know you had other living family..."

"She abandoned me. She is dead, in my opinion." I shrugged and he frowned so deeply that his dimples showed.

"Sorry."

"Let's just move on." I sighed not wanting to speak of the disaster.

"So what are we going to do about Carlisle and Esme?" He complied.

"We kick her out. And we come here. Same plan, just cleaner." I ran a finger over the arm of a wooden chair. Not a speck of dust.

"Dude, we can't just kick them out. She has a baby."

"It can go live with someone else for all I care."

"Why are you so mad?"

I ignored him, "Look, this is my house and in order for us to come here, she'll need to leave." Carmen came back in and gave me a wary glance as she handed Emmett his glass of milk.

"Edward, I know that you are angry. But you don't understand." I clenched my fists as they rested under my armpits. "I was only in my twenties when your parents passed away. I was young, and I had a lot of growing up to do. I still wanted to do things with my life and see the world. I wasn't ready for a child, much less a nine year old that I barely knew. I didn't want to be responsible for screwing you up." She leaned forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees and she clasped her hands together.

I was amazed that after all these years; After all the growing she did, All the sights she saw, All the things she did with her life...

She could still only think about herself.

I wasn't sure of what all I expected from her, but I knew an apology was at the top of the list. I also knew that she missed all of the other aspects I was looking for. That was a testament to how shitty her speech was- when you don't meet unspecified qualifications.

"And I was nine, with no parents." I wasn't trying to play the sob story, those were hard facts.

"I made sure you went to a good foster home." She said as though that made up for it.

"You were my aunt and godmother for christsake! You left me to the system because you couldn't stop thinking of you!" My voice was rising and it took all of my strength to keep my ass in my chair.

"When I accepted the title of godmother I did not think your parents would actually die, Edward!" I rolled my eyes. Because I didn't either.

No one did.

Because it just fucking happened.

"You were so damn worried about your last year in your twenties that you couldn't take a moment to wonder what it'd be like for me. A fucking disowned and mourning orphan!"

"Everyone makes mistakes."

"That was no mistake." I hissed. "But I assume you're going to say that your living here, in my parents house is a mistake too."

I mean what could she say? _Oops, I moved in. _

"Your parents let me live here in exchange for not contacting you." My eyes shot to Emmett who slowly removed his cup from his mouth, revealing a thin milk mustache. His wide blue eyes locked on mine, filled with shock.

"Not contacting him?" Emmett asked, pointing at me.

"About three years ago I searched nonstop for you. That was when I returned from England. I finally came back here and literally lived out of a motel room while I searched. And finally I ran into your father at the hospital when I went in for an ultrasound. He was bragging about you boys to a nurse and when he pulled out a picture, I knew it was you. " She smiled at the memory. "When I told him that I knew you he got very pissy. Said things about how I was too late, how you wouldn't forgive me... He didn't want you to feel uncomfortable or hurt so he promised me that if I let you continue to adjust and assimilate that he'd let me live here until you were eighteen."

"So what you are saying is, you once again, dropped me like a hot potato when it was time to choose."

"I was in a bad place." She grasped her forearm. I was so beyond disgusted that I couldn't stand to be around her.

"Listen, we came to check the place out because we'll be moving in very soon. So you and little bit need to leave." I said bluntly.

"They said I had until you were eighteen, I still have a few months! If not I'll be contacting your father." Emmett's eyes widened and my pulse raced as we realized that we had nowhere to go. We couldn't press for a house that was rightfully mine for fear of being ratted out. And my Bella was going to be moved states away.

I really didn't want to give up though.

"This house is mine by law. My father isn't a part of this at all!" I threw up my hands.

"But listen, if you start actively looking for somewhere else to live we can compromise." Emmett shrugged and I furrowed my eyebrows. I turned to thin with a silent "what the fuck" and he held up a hand, making me wait. "This place has what...?" He looked up around the room. "Four bedrooms?"

"Three and a basement. But one room is used as my office." She said like she actually owned the rooms we spoke of.

"We can be roommates." He smiled like we weren't talking to my deadbeat godmother.

"No." I said and looked to Carmen who appeared to be deep in thought.

"How would that work. We don't know each other."

"It's only a few months. That way, you can live out your stay, and we can all use the house." He shrugged and took another sip of his milk. Carmen looked at me with hopeful eyes.

"If Claire gets her own room, there are no parties, drugs or alcohol, and things stay sane... I'm fine with it." Emmett clapped loudly and grinned before lightly punching me in the shoulder.

"Carmen, looks like we've got a deal." He grinned and leaned forward, out stretching a hand. They sealed the deal and my eyes narrowed on their clasped hands. Emmett stood then and so did she, so I followed suit, letting her show us out.

Emmett waved and ducked out of the door, but as I went to leave a soft hand clamped over mine. I turned to see Carmen holding it with both and looking up at me, eyes pleading.

"I hope we can get to know each other better- have a new start." She shyly opened her arms for a hug and I remembered that same gesture from the last time I saw her. When she signed away her rights, and handed me over to foster care. I gave her a disgusted sneer and ignored her offering as I headed to the car.

When I opened the door Emmett was smiling at me. "Everything will be alright, Bella won't have to leave." I didn't know whether to thank him, pen punch him. So I just stared at the road ahead and pulled out my water bottle of vodka, knocking back a few shots.

"Thanks."

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